Outcast
by drarryx
Summary: Draco's home is broken after the war. His mother is let off, his father is dead and he is outcast. When he meets Harry in an unexpected place, it changes the lonely life he has been living, forever. *WARNING - SLASH FICTION. IF YOU DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ*
1. Leap of Faith

**Outcast**

**A/N- This story starts in the same way my other story, _Broken _does. The first chapter is basically the same as the other one, except for the ending. But after that, the stories change completely. Please R and R!  
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**Chapter one: Leap of Faith**

Draco sat, alone, in a giant green arm chair in a hotel room. He stared out the window, looking but not seeing, listening but not hearing. Ever since the Battle of Hogwarts his life had gone further and further downhill. He was an outcast and half the Wizarding World hated him. Correction, all of the Wizarding World hated him. His mother had been let off, his father had been killed and he had been outcast.

At first, living amongst the Muggles was difficult, but Draco had gotten good at it. He moved hotels every two nights, never staying anywhere for long. He was constantly alone, never letting himself get to know anyone. He figured life was better when you only had to care for yourself.

Draco had sold many of his family's possessions, giving him enough Muggle-money to live in luxury like he always had.

It was nights like these, however, that made Draco question the life he had chosen. He felt so alone, so helpless, sitting by himself in a room with a bed big enough for two. And it was nights like these that made Draco think back to his years at Hogwarts. And that is what hurt the most. Because Draco couldn't think about Hogwarts, without thinking of Harry.

Draco repositioned himself in the arm chair. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. His once clear Dark Mark had begun to fade, but it was still there, none the less. A constant reminder of the wrong choices Draco had made. And of course, when thinking of wrong choices, Draco thought the worst one he had made was keeping his feelings secret.

He had never kissed Potter. Never held his hand. He had bullied him and hurt him instead. Draco could have killed himself over it. He had thought about ending his life countless times, but he would never actually do it. He was a bloody coward.

Draco often daydreamed about Harry and often wondered what he was up to. Draco still read the Daily Prophet when he could, but it was hard to get hold of. When he was lucky enough to get a copy, he scanned it for news about Harry. For many years, no such news came. Until this very night, where Draco sat alone in his hotel room. But the news didn't come from the Daily Prophet. In fact, Draco had walked straight into Harry himself.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, looking at who he ran into. When he looked up, he gasped and a wave of emotions over took his body as he saw who it was.

Draco never expected to see Harry here. In a hotel in the middle of Russia. Draco had actually been thinking of Harry, like usual, and running into him nearly stopped his heart. He didn't let it show though. Looking up, Draco saw that Harry was having trouble grasping the fact that he had just run into an out-lawed wizard. Draco smirked and stared straight into Harry's eyes before Harry broke the gaze. Draco was surprised by the man's actions; Harry just stood there. But it was what Harry had _said _that surprised Draco the most.

"Draco…" Harry had whispered.

This broke the former-Slytherin's mask. It caught him off guard, but not for long. Quickly rebuilding his barriers, he placed his usual smirk back on his face.

"Potter," he said smoothly, not letting Harry realize what he was thinking.

"Where's Weaslette?" Draco suddenly spat. He knew Harry and her had been dating at Hogwarts and assumed they were still now. The thought made him sick.

"Dead."

This Draco had not been expecting. He felt his defenses fall as his mouth opened in shock.

"I'm so…Harry, I didn't know…I - I'm…" Draco stuttered. He saw a quick flash of pain shoot across the raven-haired man's face.

"It was after your family left," Harry began, recalling the moment.

"Don't," Draco said. "Don't tell me if it hurts to remember."

Harry merely smiled weakly and continued.

"Voldemort was cruel. It was when he was about to kill me that it happened. He was in mid-sentence when he turned, trying to humiliate and break me by killing yet another one of my friends. The spell hit Ginny, he fired at me, the spell backfired and he himself died," Harry finished weakly.

"You loved her?" Draco had meant it to be a statement, but it came out as a question.

"No," Harry replied, smiling weakly. "I loved someone else."

At that moment both boys stood in peace. There was no fighting. There were no problems. It was almost as if they were friends. But then, Harry seemed to remember himself.

"What's it to you, anyway, Malfoy?" he shot stonily at Draco. Draco felt his heart crumple. The defenses he had learned to keep strong collapsed. A single tear ran down his cheek. Harry had never seen the blonde like this. So fragile, so broken. He followed Draco's tear to where it hit the floor and immediately began to try and fix the damage.

"Malf – err – Draco…I'm sorry, I…" But when he looked up, Draco was already gone.

Rushing, Draco climbed up to the roof. Breathing heavily, he wiped away his tears, a stony determined look on his face. He wanted to do this quickly, before he changed his mind. He was tired of being alone, tired of living with nothing but regrets, tired of being an outcast, tired of Harry. When he reached the door to the roof, he threw it open without hesitation. He then made his way over to where the small rail stopped people from falling off. _Muggles are so stupid, _thought Draco. Anyone who wanted to just had to climb on top of the bar and jump. _Some safety procedure._

For a moment, Draco just stood there. Then, he positioned one foot on the bar and hoisted himself up.

Staring out ahead, Draco looked down. It was time to rid of all his regrets. He balanced himself on the bar, standing completely straight. One small step and everything would be done. Mustering up all the courage he had, Draco prepared to jump. _Not courage_, he corrected himself. This was not a brave thing to do, it was cowardly. Draco knew it was but he was going to do it anyway.

He ran a slender finger down the side of the rusty rail. He closed his eyes and imagined Harry on the street below, waiting to rescue him, ready to save him from his fall. Only that thought could make Draco take the step he needed to take to take in order to end this hell he was living. Then, before Draco jumped, he whispered three words:

"Catch me Harry."


	2. News

**Chapter two: News **

And he did.

Firm hands had wrapped themselves around Draco's waist and he was being pulled back onto the roof, back to safety. He had only been in the air for less than a second before he had been pulled back. Now, he opened his eyes and turned around to look at his savior. Harry was standing there, facing Draco, his hands still resting firmly on Draco's hips. Draco realized suddenly that he was crying. His face was wet with tears and he was gasping for breath. It had all happened so fast.

Harry pulled Draco into his chest and let Draco cry. After Draco had calmed down a bit, Harry whispered, "Don't you ever do that again, Malfoy. You gave me a right scare." Draco didn't say anything, but continued to cry softly.

"Shh…It's okay. You are safe, now," Harry murmured, holding Draco close and never wanting to let him go. "You're safe."

Draco looked up into Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered. Harry could see his hands were shaking.

"Come on," Harry said. "You need rest."

Then, he took Draco's shaking hand in his own and led the boy down off of the roof. Once they reached the fifth floor, Draco pointed at one of the doors and said, "That's my room."

"You really think I am going to leave you alone after what you just did?" Harry asked. "Come on, you are sleeping in my room tonight."

Once they reached the third floor, Harry led them to room 94. He opened the door and let Draco in. The room had one large bed, soft red curtains and was not as posh as the room Draco had been staying in. But Draco didn't care. He had finally gotten a grip on himself and had stopped crying. He felt foolish for being seen so weak by the one he loved. But, he tried not to think about that. Had Harry not seen him weak, he would have been dead.

Draco scanned the room once more until his eyes settled on a large orange armchair, much like the green one he had been sitting in earlier. He immediately went and sat in it and Harry pulled up a rough wooden chair and sat facing him.

"Why are you here?" Draco asked.

"I am an Auror," Harry said, "and I had a mission. But it is over now, so I was told to find a hotel and rest." Harry did not need to ask Draco why he was here; it was common knowledge that Draco was an outcast from the Wizarding World.

"I was searching for an old friend of yours, Blaise."

Draco looked at Harry quizzically, unsure of what to make of this new knowledge. Harry saw the look and continued.

"I know you probably don't get news from the Wizarding World much. I suppose you have not seen a copy of The Daily Prophet in years."

"Yesterday," Draco said shortly.

"I'm sorry?" Harry asked.

"Yesterday," Draco repeated. "That was when I last had a copy of The Daily Prophet."

"Then you must know," Harry said. "You must know about everything if you can get a copy that easily."

"It isn't easy," Draco began. "And no, I don't know. I only scanned the news for things I thought were important."

"Bloody hell, Draco." Harry said. "You really don't know anything?"

"I told you. I only looked for what I thought to be important. Maybe it is because I am a Malfoy and stubborn, but I didn't bother reading anything unless…" he trailed off.

"Unless?" Harry asked.

"Unless it was something to do with you." Draco replied, a sheepish look on his face.

"Come on Malfoy," Harry said, "Now is not the time to try and please me. I want to tell you what is going on…but if you already know…"

"I don't know." Draco said flatly. "I told you, I only searched for what I thought was important."

"Bloody hell," said Harry again. "If I had been outcast from the Wizarding World, I would have gotten a Daily Prophet as often as I could. And I would have read it, every single page of it, so often that I had memorized every article."

"We are different," Draco said. "You grew up with Muggles. Of course you would be dying if you had to go back to your old life. Although I hate living around the Muggles, staying connected with the Wizarding World is not as important to me. I have no one left anyways. Besides my Mother," Draco said sharply. "And I am a Malfoy. I am stubborn. If I want to know something, I will get to know something and now I want to know what you were saying about Blaise."

"You knew him, didn't you?" Harry questioned.

"We were good friends," Draco replied shortly. He didn't want to tell Harry exactly how close friends they had actually been.

"Well," Harry began. "I didn't realize you and him were that close…You rarely spoke to one another."

"He was a good friend. But he had style. I kept Crabbe and Goyle around as my bodyguards in a sense…But Blaise and I actually spoke, actually got along." Draco said in an answer to Harry's unspoken question.

"Well," Harry said again, "I expect you know how the Death Eaters were treated after the war?"

"My father was slayed." Draco said coolly.

"It was not my doing," Harry said. "The Ministry was against your father. There wasn't anything I could do to stop the execution. All Death Eaters were killed. You know that. Pansy, although she tried to hand me in, was spared. It was 'an act of desperation' as they called it, and I do not blame her. You might have done the same." Harry said.

"I would not have done," Draco whispered.

"That is beside the point," Harry continued. "You and one other were outcast from our world. You and Blasie Zabini."

This Draco was shocked to hear. He hadn't known there was another outcast besides himself.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "Lavender Brown came to us with some new information a few weeks ago."

"Brown?" Draco questioned, "The Weasel's old girlfriend?"

"Yes," Harry said, a note of annoyance in his voice. "Ron's old girlfriend. And she told us that Blaise was not as innocent as we had thought. She told us how he had captured her, put her in a headlock and pointed his wand at her throat, asking where Ron was and saying that if she didn't tell him, he would kill her. He was hungry for power. He thought Ron would lead him to me and he could take me to the Dark Lord. He would be rewarded."

"Blaise wouldn't do that," Draco said.

Harry gave him a quizzical look before continuing. "She said that when she told him she had no idea where Ron was, he did not harm her himself. Instead he threw here to Fenrir."

"Blaise would do that," Draco whispered quietly, looking at his feet. "Leave the burden and guilt on somebody else."

Harry once again looked questioningly at Draco, but he continued none the less." We were told to capture Blaise and take him in for questioning. But he was not found where the more…er…experienced Aurors were searching. He was caught by a lesser Auror who fired the curse at him. Blaise is dead, Draco." Harry finished with a Ministry-official sounding tone.

Draco's head shot up. "No," he whispered. "No…"

"I'm sorry, Draco," Harry said. He could see Draco was trying to hide the sadness that was creeping into his pale features.

"It doesn't matter," Draco said. Harry could see he was desperately trying to hide his feelings. "It doesn't matter," he said again.

Harry then went and put an arm around Draco's shoulders. "You need sleep," he whispered into Draco's ear.

Draco reluctantly got up and made his way questioningly over to Harry's bed. Harry pulled back the covers. He turned away uncertainly as Draco pulled off his clothes so that he was only in his boxers. Draco climbed into bed.

"I'll sleep in the armchair," Harry said as soon as Draco was positioned in the bed.

"Stay with me," Draco muttered. "I don't want to be alone."

The look on Draco's face was so full of the fear of rejection. Harry pulled off his shirt, but left on his jeans, as he climbed into bed next to Draco.

"Sleep," Harry commanded. And Draco reluctantly closed his eyes. Harry stayed sitting in bed next to sleeping Draco for a few hours. He did not want Draco to wake up and try to jump again. But eventually, he became over taken by tiredness and let himself sink into the soft mattress from the hotel, the warm and comforting body of his former nemesis, sleeping soundly beside him.


	3. Returning Home

**Chapter three- Returning Home**

Harry woke to a bright hotel room, the sun pouring through the curtains, showing that it had to be at least one in the afternoon. Next to Harry, was Draco who was still sleeping despite the lateness of the day and despite the brightness of the room. During the night, both men had repositioned themselves, so that when Harry awoke, he had Draco's head using his bare chest as a pillow and one of his hands was intertwined with the blondes.

Carefully, as so to not wake the former-Slytherin sleeping next to him, Harry turned to look at the clock.

"Bloody hell," he whispered when he saw that it said 3:00 P.M. Harry had never slept so well in years. Even now, he still got nightmares. For years he had a nightmare almost every night and for years, he found himself not sleeping, or staying up until the early hours to avoid having the dreaded dreams. But he had slept the entire night, and entire morning, without a single nightmare. Without having to witness the deaths of his loved ones replayed in his head, without having to revisit visions that once belonged to Voldemort, without having to watch as countless of his friends who were healthy and happy in real life, die before his eyes in his nightmares. At that moment, with the sun pouring into the room and with Draco sleeping soundly next to him, Harry felt like the happiest man in the world.

Carefully, he used his un-intertwined hand to reach for his wand and with an unspoken incantation, the curtains shot away from the windows letting more sunlight enter the room. Harry watched the people outside wander around. His mind began to wander as he watched children skip to school and mothers enter shops only to come out a few minutes later with supplies for the week. Harry briefly tore his eyes away from the life thriving outside and allowed himself to glance at the majestic prince sleeping next to him.

Draco was hated throughout the Wizarding World, he was outcast from it, and yet Harry wondered how anyone could hate Draco. As soon as that thought wandered into his mind, he chuckled softly to himself. He had, at one point hated the boy. In Harry's first year at Hogwarts, he had wanted nothing to do with the cruel bully. His second year, the hate only grew stronger. And by the time he had reached his third year at Hogwarts, he and Draco could not look at each other without staring daggers. If they had gotten the chance, they probably would have killed each other. The hate was so strong. But then, when the hate became almost too much to bear, a new feeling was introduced. One that was never spoken or demonstrated like the hate was, but a feeling that was just as strong as the hate surging through their bodies, if not stronger.

Draco repositioned himself in his sleep, letting his head roll off of Harry's chest to find a real pillow, but his fingers stayed clutching Harry's. Harry allowed himself to sit up and look back out the window, his mind taken over by the thoughts of the blonde. Had someone told Harry before now that he would end up waking up holding Draco's hand, Harry would have called them crazy and yet, that is exactly what Harry was doing. Holding Draco's hand under the covers in the bed they had shared the previous night.

Outside, Harry caught a glimpse of a small child dressed as a princess. Harry, who had grown up with Muggles, knew all the fairy-tale names and the general idea of what happened in them, even though the Dursleys had never bothered to care for Harry enough to read him the bedtime stories. It was moments like these, when there was not a care in the world, that Harry thought those stories could be real. That princesses could find princes and that dreams really do come true. As Harry watched the small child skip out of view, he couldn't help thinking of fairy-tales and of his childhood and of how, before Hogwarts, he had dreamed of marrying a princess. But, Harry reminded himself with satisfaction, there was no need for that now. He had his prince lying beside him.

Another group of people walked by and Harry saw that it was a mother and father, each holding one hand of their child. This seemed to trigger Harry's memory and bring him back to reality.

"Teddy," he muttered under his breath. Yesterday, before he had gone to the hotel, he had called Ron and Hermione to tell them he would be back from his Aurors mission tomorrow at noon. Hermione, being a muggleborn, had insisted that her, Ron and Harry get cell phones. Ron still wasn't great at using his and still occasionally called it a cellytone or a fellytone, but Harry and Hermione constantly used theirs to keep in contact with each other. Ron and Hermione had recently started living together and had kindly agreed to watch Teddy, a gentle four-year old and son of Harry's previous teacher at Hogwarts, who was now dead, whenever Harry had to go away for Auror work.

Harry also realized that he had turned his phone off, and so Hermione must be going crazy worrying about where he was now. He supposed he better call her and make up some excuse for why he was not back when he said he would be. Reluctantly, Harry gently removed his hand from Draco's so that he could dig in his pockets in an attempt to find his cellphone.

Once it was turned on, Harry saw that Hermione had tried to call him seven times, Ron had tried calling twice, and both of them had left none less than twelve messages asking where "the bloody hell" he was (Ron) and that they "really hoped he was okay" (Hermione).

Harry dialed Hermione's number and found her speaking almost immediately.

"Oh, Harry! Are you okay? We have been trying to reach you all day! You said you would be back at noon!" Hermione rambled urgently.

"Hermione," Harry said quietly, in an attempt to not wake Draco, "I'm fine, really. I've only just woken up and I know it's late. I'm sorry I didn't call."

"Oh, Harry. Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?" she questioned.

"No, actually," Harry said. But he could practically see Hermione giving a disapproving look. "Honestly," Harry said, "I haven't slept this well in ages."

In the background, Harry heard Ron yell, "You're probably really pleased that the Aurors caught Blaise! So you slept soundly!" Ron was yelling so loudly that Draco stirred in his sleep. Harry muffled the sounds of the speakers, and yet he could still hear Hermione trying to shush Ron.

"Honestly, Ronald," she was saying, "How many times do we have to tell you? You don't have to yell!"

Once Ron was quiet again, Harry spoke, "Look, Hermione -"

But Hermione cut him off before he could finish. "Teddy misses you," she whispered.

"I know," Harry said. "I will come by at 6:00 and pick him up. Me and him will go back to my place and have dinner, I am sorry for being so late."

"Harry," Hermione started, "You know you are welcome to stay for dinner and -"

"No," said Harry firmly. "You and Ron have done enough for me this week. You deserve some time to yourselves," Harry said.

He knew that Ron and Hermione had been living together for more than a year now. And he knew Ron was going to propose soon. Had the Auror mission not come up, Ron would have proposed to Hermione this weekend.

Once Ron had told Harry he wanted to propose, Harry had gone shopping with Hermione. This wasn't unusual. Hermione was a good friend and Harry usually went food shopping with her and Teddy. Only they hadn't brought Teddy that time and they were not shopping for food. Harry had dragged Hermione to the jewelry section and finally convinced her to look at rings after making her laugh by trying a few on himself. He remembered the gleaming look in Hermione's eye as she looked at the rings. He knew only too well that as soon as Ron proposed she would say yes. Harry pried to find out which ring was her favorite and then went back and told Ron. He bought the ring, but added his own touch to it. He had bewitched it so that the clear diamond would become tinted slightly gold or red depending on how you looked at it. Harry knew it was perfect. Even more perfect that the original ring that was elegant and perfect for Hermione. Harry knew they would be a happy couple…and although he loved his friends, he was jealous of their relationship. But then again, with recent events, he might soon have a relationship with someone as well.

Hermione reluctantly agreed; Harry knew she felt bad for him, but eventually she bid him farewell and hung up the phone. Glancing at the clock, Harry saw that time had indeed gone by quickly. It was only 15 minutes until five o clock in the evening. And Draco was still asleep. He had had an emotionally exhausting day yesterday and Harry supposed anyone would sleep the day away if the events that happened to Draco had happened to them. Harry gently stroked the boy's soft, blonde hair. He would have to wake Draco up soon; he needed to be at Ron and Hermione's in about an hour. But Harry didn't want to upset Draco. He also thought that what Draco needed was a good pick-me-up. Harry's first thought was Butterbeer, but he didn't want Draco to wake up and find himself alone, and the mini-fridge in the corner of a small kitchen within the hotel room, definitely did not carry Butterbeer. So, Harry settled for making coffee, as it was the only other thing he could think of.

Quietly, he climbed out of bed and muffled the sounds of the coffee-machine with a spell, so that Draco could continue to sleep. He made two cups of coffee; one black, with many sugar packets and small tubs of milk on the side, and one full of sugar and milk. He wasn't sure what Draco liked, so for now, the black coffee was his.

Harry worked his way back towards the bed and settled himself in it, taking a sip of his sugary coffee. Beside him, Draco stirred and his eyes flickered open. For a moment, they widened in shock as he saw Harry sitting next to him. But then the past nights events seemed to come rushing back to him. Before he could move, Harry grabbed the coffee he had made and thrust it into Draco's hands. Draco took the cup and looked at it with a blank expression on his face.

"It's coffee, Draco," Harry said. Draco went to take a sip, but before he could Harry spoke again. "Are you sure you don't want any sugar in it, or something? Here, taste mine," he finished, allowing Draco a sip of his coffee.

Draco's nose wrinkled in disgust as he handed Harry back his cup. Then he took a sip from the black-coffee. At first, there was no expression on his face. He sipped again and smiled. He was smirking, but he was also smiling; a sexy, crooked smile.

"I think I like it black, Potter," said Draco, referring to the dark color of the coffee and not knowing that is what it was actually called when you drank plain coffee. Harry couldn't control himself, that smile was so…it wasn't a trademark smirk, it was something unique, something so _Draco. _

"Your smile is…" Harry whispered.

"Yes," Draco asked, smiling again.

"Hot," Harry answered. Putting his cup down, Draco grabbed Harry's hands and positioned Harry so that he was leaning over Draco.

"You think so," Draco whispered, licking his lips.

"Not here Draco," Harry replied. "We have to go."

Draco seemed to remember himself. He pushed Harry away from him and asked what the time was.

"Five in the evening," Harry replied.

"Ahh," said Draco, "Well, thanks for the coffee, Potter. Now if you would please go set up a bath, I am in need of one."

"I'm not a house elf," said Harry, even though he was willing to do anything Draco said.

"No," Draco replied. "You're too good looking to be a house elf."

Harry glanced at Draco, only to see that he was once again, licking his lips again. Harry wanted to kiss him so badly, but he reminded himself that Draco was probably just playing, had no real feelings for Harry and that Harry needed to get back to Teddy.

"Draco, we need to go."

"Where?" Draco questioned.

"To my house," Harry replied.  
>Draco's eyes widened in shock again. "Harry, I'm not supposed to even be…bloody hell…I am not even supposed to talk with wizards! Harry, if anyone knew…I can't stay with you."<p>

"Too bad," Harry said. "Rules are meant to be bent a little bit Draco. I am not letting you alone anymore."

"In that case, I will need a bath," Draco replied, and stood up.

"Don't take too long, we do need to go," Harry told him.

Of course, Draco did not listen. It was ten minutes to six by the time he was dressed and ready. Harry had never seen anyone, not even Hermione, take that long to get ready before. And Draco was about to re-enter the bathroom and fix his hair or something when Harry grabbed his hand. Then they apparated.

"Draco, stay here. I need to pick up Teddy," Harry said urgently. He was rushing. It was only two minutes to six and he was not going to be late again.

"Teddy?" Draco questioned.

"Lupin's son," Harry answered. "He is four now. And Draco, please don't do anything stupid whilst I'm gone. Make yourself at home, do whatever you want. I will cook dinner when I return. I might be a while, and I am sorry if I am. But I will come back, Draco. I promise."

And Harry embraced Draco. He hugged him long and tight, before he apparated again, this time, finding himself in the doorway of Ron and Hermione's house, at six o clock exactly.


	4. Teddy and Tea

**Chapter four- Teddy and Tea**

Almost immediately, Harry saw a small child peer around the corner and into the hall in which Harry was in. In an instant, the bright-blue hair of the metamorphmagus shifted so that Harry was facing a messy black haired and green-eyed figure; almost an exact smaller version of himself.

Harry had realized only after having lived with Teddy for a year that the small boy showed his affections towards others by making himself look like them. At the moment, Teddy was shy and only took on the forms of two other figures besides Harry; Ron and Hermione. Otherwise, his hair stayed bright blue, a color which always reminded Harry of Teddy's now-dead mother, Nymphadora (but she hated being called that) whose hair used to take the color bright, bubblegum pink, for she too was a metamorphmagus.

Teddy, now resembling Harry, ran as fast as his little legs would carry him up to the man he perceived as his father. Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's legs. Harry stood there for a moment, stroking Teddy's hair whilst he hugged him. Then, Hermione came out, followed closely by Ron. Hermione smiled pleasantly at Harry and Ron nodded towards him. Harry nodded back. It felt good to be standing here with his two closest friends and the boy he had taken in as if he were his own son. If Draco were in the picture, his life would be complete. But, he forced the thought of Draco out of his mind. Draco was outcast from the Wizarding World and Hermione and Ron,_ especially_ Ron, could not know Harry knew where he was, let alone that he was in Harry's own home.

In a few minutes, Harry found himself situated on a soft, pink couch; Hermione's choice of furniture, of course. Teddy had gone off to play, and Harry was going to have a chat with Ron and Hermione. In his hands, he held a cup of tea, which he began to sip at as Ron spoke.

"So, what's the whole story then?" He asked.

Harry looked up from his tea. Hermione and Ron were sitting opposite him, Ron in his favorite light red armchair and Hermione in a neighboring light gold one. Both of them had an eager look in their eyes. They wanted to know the story…and the _whole_ story.

"Alright, you both now Blaise was caught and killed," Harry began. They nodded. "Well, the Auror that caught him was inexperienced. We did not want Blaise dead. For all we know, Lavender was lying." They nodded again. Harry thought about what he would say next. Mentioning Draco was out of the question, so he ended his speech feebly by saying, "So, I was ordered to stay at a hotel and I slept the morning and day away."

Ron looked expectantly at him, a look mirrored by Hermione.

"Really Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry knew she didn't really believe that was all, which it wasn't, but Ron came to his rescue.

"You felt good about the mission being over. That's why you slept so well," Ron said.

"Yep," was Harry's reply.

"Bet you were glad that whatever-his-name-is killed off the bloody Slytherin, eh?" Ron asked. Hermione gave him a disapproving look, which was a given, but Harry's reaction startled both of them.

"He could have been innocent. And now he is dead. And who cares if he was in Slytherin?" Harry asked, his voice cold and blunt.

"I was making a joke?" Ron said. It was meant to be a statement, but Ron's uncertainty had changed it into a question.

"At least you're safe, Harry," Hermione said at last, to break the uneasy silence that had fallen over the group.

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said and he was grateful. He was grateful for the change of subject as well as for her concern. But at that moment, he wanted to do nothing more that leave. His mind was back on Draco, and on the fact that Harry would have to make enough dinner for Draco, Teddy and himself. Harry just wanted to get away from his friends and see if Draco was okay…who knows what could have happened by now? If Draco had made another attempt to kill himself, he would be dead. Harry shivered at the thought.

"Cold?" Ron asked.

"I'll make some more tea," Hermione replied before leaving the room. At that moment, Teddy came in and his hair changed from messy and back to a bright ginger. But his eyes remained green. Slowly, the little boy spoke, something rare for the gentle four year old.

"Dada an Ronnled pway wif Teddaa?" he asked hesitantly. Ron laughed and nodded his head.

"Of course we will play with Tedaa," he said, pronouncing Teddy's name the same way Teddy did. But Harry still had his mind on getting home, so he reluctantly agreed but only after Teddy promised that they would only play for five minutes.

Hermione entered a deserted sitting room with more hot tea. Sounds from the guest bedroom could be heard; the sounds of two boys-at-heart playing with a young child. Abandoning the tea, she went to join them.

An hour later, they emerged from the room. Laughing and having a good time, everything else forgotten but here and now and this moment. Playing with Teddy had made them feel like a family. Hermione felt as if Teddy were her own child, her own child with Ron and when Teddy kept making himself have Ron's hair and Hermione's eyes it wasn't hard to believe.

Ron's thoughts had drifted to the ring he had in store for Hermione. He couldn't wait to start a family of his own.

And Harry was like the uncle who was loads of fun and came to visit often. The uncle who both the mother and father of the child were close to, but an uncle none the less. Even in the imaginary world with Teddy, even in a place so thriving with friendship and love, Harry was a bit like a third wheel. He was apart from Ron and Hermione, if only slightly. Ron and Hermione's relationship was one more than just friendship. Their relationship was pure love.

Glancing at a clock and realizing how late it was, Harry's stomach dropped. It had been an hour. What if Draco thought Harry had forgotten him? What if Draco was…dead? Harry rushed to pick Teddy up, but Teddy did not want to leave. Yet, there was a sense of urgency in the air, Harry needed to get back home. Back to Draco.

"Harry, just stay for dinner!" Hermione offered, seeing the look on Teddy's face; the boy was so unwilling to leave.

"Sorry Hermione, but really, I must go," Harry said, trying to usher Teddy towards the door.

"Go? Why?" Hermione questioned, but instead of answering, Harry was trying fervently to get Teddy to want to leave Hermione and Ron's house.

"Eat with My-nee-nee and Ronnled!" Teddy screamed, something he would normally not have done.

"Teddy," Harry said, getting down on one knee, "What do you want to eat? Your favorite food?" he asked.

"Wes!" Teddy cried in delight, knowing that Harry would cook him whatever he asked for. His face took on a serious look of consideration…or at least as serious as a four-year-old could look.

"Psketti wif cheeses!" Teddy finally decided.

"Alright," Harry said, "We will go home and cook you that."

Teddy nodded happily, his frame of mind changed so easily, as any young child's frame of mind would. Harry hoisted him up onto his hip. Then, Harry waved goodbye to a dumbstruck Ron and Hermione, before using side-along apparition to apparte himself and Teddy back to their home. And, at least for the moment, Draco's home too.


	5. A Banquet

**Chapter five- A Banquet **

Harry usually tried not to apparte when he had Teddy with him. But this was an exception. Harry was worried sick. Images flashed through his mind of what Draco could have done by now; of what Draco's body would look like, flattened as he had jumped out of the window in Harry's house, or bloodied and broken by a knife from Harry's kitchen. If Draco was dead, the blood was on Harry's hands. Yet, even though Harry was rushing, he did not apparte directly into his house. Even though he was nervous and wanted to get to Draco as soon as possible, he was afraid of the scene he might find. So, as he and Teddy appeared on the end of his street he carried Teddy and walked briskly towards his home.

"Now Teddy," Harry said, as he walked. Teddy looked up at him expectantly. Harry thought about how he was going to phrase this. Teddy needed to know Draco would be staying with them, but if Draco was dead…

"Teddy, there is another person who will be staying with us in our house, okay?" Harry began.

"A mummy?" Teddy asked, a delighted tone of hope in his voice. Harry had often told Teddy that he was not Teddy's real father. But Teddy was so young, he didn't really comprehend what Harry was trying to tell him and he was always asking Harry where his mummy was and why he didn't have one.

"No," Harry laughed quietly. "A man. His name is Draco. But he is a secret, okay?" Teddy nodded, his eyes wide. He was pleased Harry was telling him something to secretive, it made the little four-year-old feel important.

"Now, when we get home, the man might be taking a nap, okay?" Harry said. Teddy nodded again. Harry figured if there was a dead body in or around the house once they entered, he would send Teddy to his room, claim Draco was asleep and the tell Teddy that Draco couldn't stay with them. Harry gulped at the thought, and looked up, a familiar building gazing back at him.

It was a two-floored flat on the edge of the street. The outside was a grotesque grey and the building had a gloomy air around it. And yet, it was cheap and easy and Harry didn't need perfect living conditions, it was just him and Teddy, up until now at least. Harry opened the front door with a wave of his wand, and then proceeded up two flights of stairs before emerging at the door to his personal flat inside the apartment building. Harry had only one neighbor; a grumpy old man who he rarely saw. The man was a muggle as Harry lived on a street full of them. Harry was unsure why he picked such a magic-less place to live, but then again, he supposed it was what he was used to; he had lived with the Dursleys for years, not knowing that magic even existed.

Harry held his breath as he opened the door, and was greeted by a delicious smell; a smell he could only relate to one other thing: the feasts at Hogwarts. Harry breathed in delightedly as he looked around. There was no blood, no suicide note and the delicious smell of food washed his worries away. Teddy smiled up at him, obviously thinking Harry had put this huge surprise in store and in he gaped, in awe, wondering how Harry had managed to do it.

At that moment, Draco walked into the room. He had on a white apron, one that Harry often used when he cooked, and he wore a crooked smile. He had a smug look upon his face, as if he was very happy with himself but he still had that ever-present smirk etched into his features.

Harry smiled at Draco. "Draco," he said, "This is Teddy." Teddy had climbed out of Harry's arms and was now hiding behind Harry's legs. He looked at Draco surveying him.

"Psketti wif cheeses?" Teddy asked shyly.

Draco looked at Harry before directing his gaze at Teddy and saying, "You're in luck Teddy. That is indeed part of the banquet I prepared for us tonight."

Teddy, unsure if this meant yes or not, looked up at Harry, who nodded. Teddy then ran to the kitchen, Harry and Draco trailing after him.

As Harry entered the usually messy and some-what gloomy room, he gasped. The room had been scrubbed so clean it basically shined. And the table was covered in food. Completely. There was Spaghetti with a range of sauces, roast beef, casseroles, salads, everything. Harry looked at Draco in surprise.

"You…you cooked this?"

Draco smiled a little sheepishly. "Yes, Potter, I did. Problem?" he asked.

Harry shook his head, but then said, "I thought you didn't believe in this sort of stuff. Let the House Elves do the work, right?"

"Well, I thought you deserved something special. You did save my arse, after all," Draco replied.

Harry looked over to see Teddy stuffing his mouth with various different foods.

"Manners, Teddy," he said and Teddy looked up with a guilty look on his face.

"Sow—wy," he said, as he swallowed what was in his mouth and began to pile food on his plate. Harry did so as well, filling up his own plate with a small portion of everything. Draco left his plate empty until Harry had tried his food.

"Mmm," Harry said as he ate a quick bite of one of the casseroles. "Draco, this is delicious."

Draco smirked that smug-crooked smile and put some salad on his own plate. He ate petite portions and was the first one finished with his meal. He, Harry and Teddy sat and talked for a while, Teddy telling Draco all about the magical adventures he, Dadda, Ronnled, and My-nee-nee had had previously that evening. Draco listened intently, gasped in all the right places and laughed. Harry appreciated the way Draco was with Teddy; even though Draco had just met the young boy, it was already like Teddy was his own son.

After they finished the banquet, Harry put Teddy to bed and then went to help Draco clear up. He found that the kitchen was deserted, but he didn't worry much. With a few waves of his wand, he had cleared the mess up and Draco still was nowhere to be seen.

He left the kitchen and turned the hall to hear a soft whispering-singing sound coming from Teddy's room. Harry walked silently towards the door of the room that stood slightly ajar. He listened. Draco was singing Teddy to sleep.

Harry's heart melted; there was so much more to his former enemy than he could have ever imagined. On the inside, once you got past the cold, harsh exterior, there was someone beautiful. Harry liked Draco outside and in. In fact Harry was almost positive that his small crush had grown to be something more.

He walked down the hallway, and into his room. He had a decent sized bed, two people could fit in it, although they would be close together. Harry took out his wand, about to conjure another bed for Draco to sleep in, when Draco walked in.

"Don't," Draco said. "I don't want to sleep alone. You know that."

Harry put his wand away. Draco smirked at him.

"You call this a house, Potter?" he questioned. "This place isn't even as big as some of the hotel rooms I've stayed in!"

Harry could hear there was a playful voice to his insults, be he was slightly offended, none the less.

"Watch your tongue, Malfoy. I'm the one letting you stay," Harry said coolly.

"Ohh, angry are we?" Draco taunted.

"Bed," Harry exclaimed forcefully. "Now."

And he left the room. He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and returned to the room in a comfortable, over-sized, button-down shirt; what he usually wore to bed. He found Draco sitting on the bed in his boxers, the same thing he had worn to sleep in the hotel.

"Do you want a shirt or something?" Harry asked.

Draco winked at him and replied, "No, I always sleep like this."

He then situated himself under the soft-red covers, taking up most of the bed.

"Not liking the furnishing very much, Potter. But at least the bed is comfy."

At this comment, Harry laughed. "Rather have something green?" he questioned.

"I am, or at least I was, a Slytherin," Draco replied. Harry waved his wand and made the bed covers on Draco's side become a deep green. Then, he climbed into bed next to Draco, who was taking up more than his fair share of the bed.

"Mind giving me some more room, Malfoy?" he asked.

As if in a response, Draco pulled Harry closer to him, wrapping his hands around Harry's waist. They were cuddled together in the center of the bed, in between the part of the covers that changed from green to red, holding each other, listening to one another's breathing. And in such a safe environment, in such a loving and caring position, they fell asleep, taking up almost none of the bed, they were so close together.

For the second night in a row, Harry had a deep, dreamless sleep.


	6. Almost a Family

**Chapter Six – Almost a Family**

The next morning, Draco and Harry were sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee. It was quite early, much to Draco's dislike, but Harry had told Draco that if he wanted coffee, he better wake up now as Harry was heading off to work.

Draco sat across from Harry, with a look of mild dreaminess on his face, as if he was still half asleep. He had a cup of black coffee clutched in his hands; holding his cup very tightly in order to try and convey the heat from the mug to his body.

They were both sitting in a pleasant silence, when Teddy walked in. Draco's eyes opened immediately as he set his eyes on Teddy, a soft gasp of surprise escaping his lips.

As Teddy had entered the kitchen, his bright-blue hair had drifted into a messy-black form until quickly drifting from black to blonde. His features continued to shift in a confused mix of Harry and Draco's features until at last, standing before them was someone who looked exactly like Draco must have done when he was Teddy's age. Draco was obviously startled by this. Harry knew it was odd; when Teddy had first taken on his shape, he remembered feeling as if he was looking into a distant mirror from the past, an uneasy feeling of mystery and memories.

Harry glanced at Draco, who was still staring in shock.

"I don't know if I mentioned this, but Teddy is a metamorphmagus," Harry said to Draco.

Draco pulled his eyes off the miniature-version of himself and his face broke into a smile. Teddy, pleased with himself after seeing Draco's reaction, skipped over to Draco and then looked up at Harry, making huge puppy-dog eyes.

"Wen Dadda go to work, Teddaa stay wif Dwaco?" Teddy begged. Harry knew Ron and Hermione would be surprised that Teddy wasn't coming to be babysat by them, but Harry couldn't say no to that face.

A little reluctantly, he picked up his phone and dialed Hermione's number.

"Hey," Harry said. "Look, You guys don't need to stay with Teddy today, I'm keeping him home, he's sick."

Harry felt a little bad about lying, but it wasn't as if it was the first time he'd ever lied.

Hermione's sympathetic voice came in from the other end, "Harry, you know I can look after him even though he is sick," she said.

"I want to stay with him, I just got back Hermione. He needs me," Harry said.

"Well…alright…But ring me if you need anything. Alright, Harry?"

"Will do," Harry replied before hanging up. He walked back into the kitchen to find Teddy was giggling at something Draco had just said.

"Teddy, you can stay with Draco today," Harry stated.

Both Draco-Teddy and Draco looked at Harry and smiled. It was a strange sensation, and Harry hugged both of them before leaving for work.

For a while, things were perfect. But perfection never lasts, and if it does, it's never for long. Harry had begun to make up wild excuses not to come over to Ron and Hermione's for any occasion, preferring not to leave Draco alone. His two best friends hadn't seen him or Teddy in around a week, except for the odd encounter between Harry and Ron at work.

Harry felt slightly bad about pushing Ron and Hermione away, but he had other things on his mind. He and Draco were becoming ever closer, and it felt like Teddy was their son. Teddy had a new habit of taking the form of Draco with Harry's bright green eyes and a simple streak of blue on the side of the white-blond hair. Sometimes, it was only this streak that reminded Harry and Draco that the child was not theirs.

Harry and Draco's relationship was complicated. They had hated each other for years, and yet now all that wasted time seemed to be forgotten. But they weren't really together or anything. They slept in the same bed, but that was because Draco was a broken man; destroyed by the harshness of being an outcast, and forced to live alone for so long that he feared it. But did Draco think of Harry in _that _way? Harry couldn't tell.

There was no doubt about how Harry felt though. He wasn't sure if he was in love, but he felt something. He was slightly angry with himself too. Every time he was together with Draco, he wanted to be touching him somehow; stroke his hair, hug him, hold his and, anything, even just a brushing of his skin against the blonde's. And Harry couldn't stop looking at him. He caught himself staring at Draco in the mornings, at meals, when playing with Teddy. And he saw signs too. Perhaps it was just one of those things that when you like someone, you start to see "signs" that they like you back. The way they look at you, the way they said that to you, whatever.

But Draco was a Sex-God. All throughout their years at Hogwarts, it had been known that Draco had had various partners, even for just one night, and that multiple people, from about every house except Gryffindor (and sometimes Hufflepuff) had crushes on him. Draco was used to getting what he wanted, and used to manipulating people to serve his sexual needs.

So Harry wasn't really sure about anything. He wasn't sure if Draco loved him, or even if he loved Draco. He didn't know if the "signs" he saw were his imagination, Draco toying with his feelings, or if it actually meant something. Harry often found his thoughts occupied by the blonde, even when he wasn't with him. He would seem far off and distant on those occasions that he did go and see Ron and Hermione, and sometimes he even found himself blanking out, deep in thought, when he was with Teddy.

And he was doing just that when he received a call from Hermione.

Harry has excused himself from the room to answer his phone.

"Harry?" Hermione asked as soon as he had picked up.

"Yes, Hermione?" Harry questioned back.

"Well, I know you have been really busy and I suppose your immune system isn't so great as you seem to be sick a lot, but I haven't seen you in ages and I was wondering if you wanted to get together?"

Harry could tell from the tone of her voice that she could see past his excuses, and that she really wanted to see him again, after all, for weeks they had been so distant.

"I was thinking," Hermione continued, "we could do a shop like that one where we tried on all the nice rings and such."

Harry racked his brain for another excuse, but realized that he should get together with Hermione. That had been fun, and she would become even more suspicious if he didn't do something to stop the suspicions soon.

"Sure, Hermione. Sounds great. When?" Harry asked.

"What about Saturday? And Ron is busy then, you know he left today for an Auror mission…anyway, it would be fun, just the two of us," she replied.

Harry cussed silently. On Saturdays Draco always woke up late and he and Harry had come up with somewhat of a routine where they stayed in bed, cuddled up together until Teddy came running in, claiming he was "stawving" and needed fwood nowww". But Harry reluctantly agreed.

"I'll come pick you up at your place then?" Hermione proposed. "I haven't seen it in a while…"

"N-no," Harry stuttered, "I'll pick you up. Its…erm…what a gentleman would do," Harry said quickly, thinking up an excuse. Hermione would not be coming to his house, the risk of Draco being seen was too great.

Hermione had her suspicions up once again, but she tried not to show them as she said, "Well, see you on Saturday at 11 sharp at mine and Ron's house."

Harry simply said, "Yup, see you then!" before hanging up.

He put down his phone and got up to find Draco. When he did, he said "I'm going shopping with Hermione... On Saturday," he added.

Draco looked up and Harry could see a small flicker of disappointment flash in his eyes. Like Harry, Draco seemed to think of Saturday as 'their day' as well.


	7. Hermione

**Chapter Seven- Hermione**

Harry awoke the next morning to find himself alone in the bed. For the first time in weeks he felt the familiar cold flush of fear sweep over him. He sat up and looked around, but Draco was gone. Like the night Harry had first showed Draco to his home, images flashed through Harry's mind of the multiple different scenarios, all ending with a lifeless Draco. But also like that night, Harry did not want to jump up and immediately scourge the house looking for Draco either, afraid of what he might find.

Cautiously, Harry got out of bed. He noticed that his shirt was unbuttoned half of the way down and smiled a little, despite the situation. Draco seemed to have a tendency to unbutton Harry's shirt in the night; for whatever reason, Draco subconsciously liked to unbutton things.

Harry checked the bathroom first. Glancing at the alarm clock near the sink, he saw that it was only eight in the morning; three hours before he had to meet Hermione, and more than three hours than Draco would have usually woken up. Teddy probably wouldn't wake for another hour either. Like Harry, Teddy was what some would call and 'early bird' but since Draco had moved in, they had all fallen to his bad habits, almost never waking up before twelve (and before nine for Teddy).

After Harry checked the bathroom, he slowly and quietly began to walk through his home. Teddy's door was shut tight and Harry knew that even if Draco did kill himself, he would be polite enough not to do it anywhere Teddy would find him. So, Harry passed that door and walked into the main room in the house. Everything stood perfectly and orderly; the couch with all its cushions straight, the desk with neat piles of paper stacked upon it. Harry passed that room too, and made his way towards the kitchen.

He opened the door slowly, and a sweet rush of relief spread over him. Standing hunched over the coffee machine, muttering and cussing to himself was Draco Malfoy. For a moment, Harry stood in the doorway, watching. Draco was having no luck with the muggle-contraption what so ever. Draco continued to cuss as he attempted to force the machine into action before he finally gave up and smashed the machine with his bare hands. Harry was impressed in the amount of strength Draco had shown, and amused with the lack of ability to figure out how to work the thing.

Draco then turned around and saw Harry, standing and watching him. Draco had huge, dark circles under his eyes and Harry suspected he had been up for a while, but was unsure of the reason.

"Can't even work a muggle-contraption, Draco?" Harry asked, a playful tone to his voice.

Draco missed the tone completely and took the comment as an insult. In his irritable and sleep-lacking state the Draco with a sharp tongue and evil pride from their years at Hogwarts had returned.

"Shut your mouth Potter or I will do the same to you as I did to that piece of muggle crap," Draco snarled.

"Not in a very good mood this morning, are we Draco?" Harry asked walking closer to Draco, a playful smile on his face.

"Potter I am sleep deprived. Don't bother me. I already told you what I would do," Draco spat.

"Ten points from Slytherin for your attitude, Malfoy," Harry said calmly, now only a few steps from Draco.

SLAM!

Harry was pressed against the wall of the kitchen, Draco's hands on either side of his body, trapping him. There was a fire in Draco's eyes, a strange gleaming look. He looked like all he wanted to do was hurt Harry. Up until now Harry hadn't taken Draco's snide comments seriously.

"Don't – say – anything - Potter!" Draco said in a harsh whisper, his face inches from Harry's, His hands blocking Harry from escaping.

Harry thought Draco would hit him, would smash him as hard as he had the coffee machine. Instead, Draco kissed him.

The small yet apparent tension between the boys had finally been broken. One of them had decided to act. Maybe it was because Draco wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind, or maybe it was seeing Harry so helpless because of him that he felt he needed to comfort him, but no matter the reason, Draco had pressed his lips to Harry's and Harry had obliged.

Draco traced Harry's lips with his tongue, begging for entry. Harry quickly opened his mouth and let the tongue slither in. They stayed like that for a few minutes, kissing, exploring each other's mouths, explaining without words what they hadn't been able tell each other before. And then –

"Dadda! Pappa!" came a scream from the other end of the kitchen. They broke apart abruptly to find little Teddy standing and staring at them with wide eyes.

"Pappa!" he said again, and then twisted his soft features into a very convincing Draco-like smirk. For a moment, Harry stood, feeling his face burning at what he had just been caught doing, and when he looked over he saw his feelings mirrored. Draco's face had flushed pink, a soft and barely noticeable pink, but pink none the less.

"Pappa?" Teddy said again, this time questioning it and pointing with a chubby finger in Draco's general direction.

Understanding dawned on Harry and he smiled.

"Yes," Draco said suddenly with a meaningful look towards Harry and a smirk on his face. "Pappa," he repeated.

* * *

><p>A few rushed hours later, Harry found himself at the door of Ron and Hermione's house. Hermione heard him apparte and came running to the door, which she flung open. One look at her told Harry that she was excited for the occasion. She had dressed in what he knew to be her favorite blouse and she had even spent some time trying to calm her usually puffy hair. She was smiling so broadly, Harry knew she must be <em>very<em> happy about something. She flung her arms around him, and then stood back.

"Oh, Harry!" she began. "There was something I didn't tell you on the phone the other day. I've been dying to tell you, but, oh Harry, I just had to say it in person!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Clam down, Hermione. What is it?" Harry inquired.

"Oh Harry, it's just…Harry you look great you know, I haven't really seen you in a while, have I? I like the stubble-look, I think it quite suits you," she said quickly.

"Hermione! What's the big news?" Harry asked. Every time Hermione was over-excited about something, she began to change topics rapidly whilst trying to think of how to say what she wanted to say.

"Oh, Harry!" she finally burst, "Ron and I are getting married!"

A smile immediately lit up Harry's face. So Ron had finally gotten up the courage and proposed. Hermione immediately held out her hand in order to show Harry the ring. As Harry looked at it, his smile faltered slightly. _So, this was it,_ he thought. Ron and Hermione were getting married. If he had felt alone before, he definitely felt it now. But then again, from Draco's actions this morning, maybe he wouldn't be alone for long…

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked him. Immediately, Harry forced the thoughts of Draco out of his mind. Draco wasn't even supposed to exist in the Wizarding World anymore and if Hermione knew he had been staying with Harry…how would she react?

A few hours later, Hermione and Harry sat in Starbucks, a muggle drinks shop Hermione was quite fond of. They sat, sipping lattes and frappes and laughing. Eventually the laughter died down and Harry checked his watch.

"Going somewhere?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry replied, but he had a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, telling him to get back to Draco.

"Or are you going to go home 'sick'?" Hermione asked, giving him a stern look. "Harry, I didn't ask you to come shopping with me just for fun. Or to tell you that Ron and I were engaged. Well, I did want to do both those things, but I also came to find out if you are okay," she finished.

"Why wouldn't I be?" said Harry, but he was avoiding looking at her in the eyes.

"Harry, you have been avoiding Teddy and yourself form seeing me and Ronald!" Hermione cried.

"I…I…I haven't been avoiding you. I…I just…"

"You _what_, Harry?" Hermione implored.

"Look, Hermione. There is something I haven't been telling you," Harry said.

"Oh really, Harry?" Hermione questioned sarcastically.

Harry ignored the sarcasm and continued to speak. _Was he really going to tell Hermione this? _But before he could even think about the situation properly, he was speaking.

"Hermione. That night when I went to the Russian hotel after Blaise was killed, I didn't tell you exactly what happened. I met up with someone, by accident. Draco Malfoy." Harry looked up, wanting to see Hermione's reactions so far. Her eyebrows were knitted together, but she was content on hearing more.

"He...he tried to kill himself. I stopped him. We slept together."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock and Harry realized what he had just insinuated.

"N-n-no!" Harry said suddenly, "I mean, we slept in the same bed, so that I could prevent him from killing himself. But we didn't, no…" he finished weakly.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief and smiled a little bit, but she was still shocked about the prospect of Draco trying to kill himself.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "I took him home, he was so…broken…so outcast and I know we hated him. I know Ron still does and I suppose you do too, but…I couldn't let him…die…"

Hermione crossed to Harry's side of the table and hugged him.

"You did the right thing, Harry. I'm quite proud of you even if it is Malfoy. You protected someone you hated."

"Yeah, well…we are kinda…friends…now," Harry replied. Hermione seemed a little shocked at that statement, and worry broke onto her face as she began to chew her nails.

"Harry…if you are caught with Mal- Draco…in your apartment, well, won't you be outcast too? He isn't supposed to communicate with Wizards anymore, let alone live with them," she said.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Harry replied bravely.

"I'm glad you told me the truth Harry. Friends with Malfoy! Shocking!" she exclaimed playfully.

But even though they went home without further mention of the blonde, Harry hadn't completely told her the truth. Harry had said Malfoy was his friend.

He hadn't said that he loved him.


	8. The ReMeeting

**Chapter 8 - The Re-Meeting  
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As Harry parted with Hermione, and came home, he felt a rush of excitement take over his body. All throughout dinner and ever since he had arrived, one thought was clouding his mind. It was the only thing he could think of, an obsession, but on a smaller scale. _Draco. _But not just Draco, him and Draco. Were they together? Were they a pair? What had the kiss meant? Had it meant anything at all? All Harry wanted to do was to ask Draco these questions, and to receive answers. But he did not get his chance to ask until they had all been fed, and Teddy sung to sleep. It was then, when they were lying in bed, in a sweet silence that Harry decided to speak his queries.

"Draco," Harry murmured, turning over in bed to stare at the boy he knew was lying awake besides him.

"Hmm?" Draco asked.

"Are we…" Harry paused, trying to think of what to say.

"Are we…a pair? Are we…dating?" he finally asked. He felt childish doing so, as if he was asking for permission to do something, which lead to him blushing slightly after posing the question.

As if in reply, Draco leant over, slithered his hands behind Harry's head, lifted it slightly and kissed him. It was a long, sweet kiss and when Draco broke away, Harry saw that there were tears in his eyes.

"Is…is that a yes then?" Harry asked, slightly shocked but happy nonetheless at the actions Draco had taken.

Draco nodded and Harry saw a tear slide slowly down Draco's cheek.

"Why are you crying?" Harry asked softly, general concern and confusion etched into his features.

"I have a family again," Draco whispered back, tears of joy falling steadily down his face.

Harry took Draco into his arms, and held him tight, feeling Draco's tears slide down his chest, and wishing he would never have to let go.

But the moment of perfection was broken by an obnoxious 'RING! RING! RING!' coming from somewhere in the room.

"Blasted phone," Harry muttered. Draco looked up at Harry and Harry wiped a tear from under his eye.

"I'll be back, love," he said and then stood up to retrieve his phone.

Glancing at the number illuminated on the screen, Harry answered the phone by saying, "For God sakes Hermione, why are you calling me _now_?"

"Hello Harry. Nice to speak to you too," Hermione replied. "Look, Harry, Ronald is coming back Monday and I didn't know if I could wait to tell him about Draco and I was wondering if – "

But Harry cut her off, "Hermione! Don't tell Ron, alright? I want to be the one to tell him that I have Malfoy staying in my house. He'd be angry to hear it from anyone but me," Harry said abruptly.

"Harry would you let me finish?" Hermione asked. "Look, I want to invite you over to dinner on Tuesday. You can bring Draco and sort of re-introduce him to Ron and we can all have dinner together."

Harry pondered the idea. It would be a good way to make it official that he and Draco were living together…but would Ron stand having Draco in his house? If there was one person who Draco used to taunt just as much as Harry, if not more, it was Ron. But Draco had changed…hadn't he? When Harry thought about that he realized that no, Draco hadn't really changed…Harry had just seen beyond the cold grey eyes and hard outer shell Draco had lived in through his years at Hogwarts.

"Alright, Hermione," Harry began. "But don't tell Ron anything, okay? I want to be the one to sort of explain things."

"I will only tell him that I have invited you to dinner, is all," Hermione said happily. Harry could practically hear her smiling; she was pleased with herself for thinking up such a fool-proof plan.

"G'night, Hermione," Harry said.

"Sleep tight Harry," Hermione replied and Harry heard a somewhat mysterious tone leak out from her carefree use of speech. She giggled a little and hung up before Harry walked back to the room he shared with Draco.

He climbed into bed to find the blonde already asleep and breathing deeply. Harry followed suit until twelve in the afternoon the next day, when he woke up cuddled next to his partner after a long and comforting rest.

Sunday and Monday both seemed to flash by and it was Tuesday morning before Harry had time to think properly about the dinner he and Draco would be attending that evening. It was eight in the morning when Harry awoke, as he had work today, and it was then that Harry realized he hadn't even _mentioned _the dinner situation to Draco.

Reluctantly, he tapped Draco on the shoulder in an attempt to pull him out of sleep. As soon as Harry got home from work they would need to head off, so he better tell him now than never.

Eventually it was only the act of pushing Draco harshly off of the bed that woke him up. Harry immediately regretted doing so because as soon as Draco had hit the floor, he had awoken with a jolt, jumped up, grabbed Harry by the wrists and pushed him flat against the bed.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" Draco asked angrily, his voice the slightest bit croaky from not being used all night.

"I'm sorry…sorry, D-Draco," Harry said, stuttering slightly in fear of what Draco could do to him at that moment. Draco seemed to realize the sexual and slightly threatening position he was holding Harry in and abruptly pulled Harry up so that they were sitting on the bed, face to face.

"Sorry," Draco drawled, "You see, Potter, when revoked from my sleep, I tend to get edgy."

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Hermione wants you to come over for dinner."

This took the blonde by surprise. He blinked a few times before saying, "The Mudbl – err – Muggleborn girl?"

"Yes," said Harry ignoring the slight sound of disgust in Draco's voice. "And you are coming," he added forcefully.

Draco began to shake his head, but Harry broke in. "Look Draco, you are staying with me. In my house. I am a Wizard. Under the law for Outcast Wizards, we are not supposed to even_ communicate. _I can't hide you in my house for the rest of our lives. If we are going to live together, and I suppose you do want to live with me, we are going to have to tell at least some people. Ron and Hermione are my best friends. They deserve to know that I have an Outcast living in my bedroom."

Draco stared for a while, a question playing on his lips.

"No," Harry said as if he had read Draco's mind. "I'm not going to tell them we are a pair. Not yet anyway," he said.

Draco nodded curtly.

"Now, I will return from work at six like usual. We will apparate to Ron and Hermione's immediately. With Teddy, of course. You will stay in the hall, hidden, whilst I tell Ron about you and me living together. Then, we will eat dinner and you will behave." Harry felt like he was telling a small child not to eat cookies from the cookie jar. But it had to be said, and Draco had to know how this was going to work. If Draco just appeared with Harry on the doorstep, Ron would probably freak and call the Ministry. Then both Harry and Draco would be Outcast, or Draco killed if the story were twisted.

Draco nodded again and Harry kissed him on the cheek before leaving for work.

Work seemed very rushed that day, but it was probably because Harry couldn't think of anything but Draco and the night ahead. He was worried about what Ron's reaction would be and anxious to see if Draco would be able to keep his sharp tongue under control. He did not want this to end badly. Before he knew it, Harry was standing in the living room of Ron and Hermione's house, Draco hidden in the hallway.

"Hi," Harry said tensely, walking slowly towards Ron.

"Hey mate," said Ron and his face broke out into a huge smile. Harry grinned back, not as anxious as he had been a few moments before. Teddy than came running in through the hall. Harry noticed Teddy's hair turn a bright fire red as he laid eyes on Ron and then it began to shift, turning to a lighter color. Harry stood for a moment watching Teddy's features. Ron looked confused, but before too much damage was done, Hermione came running into the room, whisking the half-Ron, half-Draco Teddy into another room.

Ron looked at Harry with confusion on his face. He looked unsure about if he should ask what had just gone on or not. He seemed to be processing the features Teddy had been shifting into and was slowly shaking his head, as if sure his assumptions were wrong.

"Ron," Harry began, sighing before continuing. Much like he had with Hermione, he began by saying, "There is something I haven't been telling you."

At first Ron's eyebrows raised in shock, then his features shifted to as more understanding look; he was putting the pieces together, Harry coming over less and Teddy changing into… His eyebrows rose again, higher this time and his eyes accompanied them by widening with shock. Harry could practically see the thoughts flashing through Ron's brain. The multiple scenarios Ron was thinking of, all with Harry being _forced _to somehow encounter Draco Malfoy. Harry hadn't wanted the news to be broken in such a shocking way, but Teddy's features were unmistakably Draco's. No one else had that same blonde hair, those cool grey eyes and that smirk. That wonderful smirk.

But Ron didn't catch on completely. In fact, he almost entirely missed the point.

"What the bloody hell did he do to you, Harry?" Ron growled. "Slimy Outcast git. He attacked you, used unforgivable curses? I should have known he'd want revenge for the fall of his master. Well, Harry, you bring him here and we'll show him what we can do." Ron stood up, his hands in the pockets of his robes, reaching threateningly for his wand.

This time it was Harry's eyes that widened. "N-no! Ron. It's not that. No, no, no, no, that's completely the wrong idea. Look, that night when I went to the Russian hotel after Blaise was killed, I didn't tell you exactly what happened. I saw someone there. I suppose you've guessed who," Harry gave what would have been a chuckle of light-hearted laughter. "Draco Malfoy tried to kill himself that night and -"

But Ron cut him off, "So why didn't you let him? The git! The way he treated us in school…"

Harry felt a surge of anger heat his entire body up. How dare Ron insult Draco? They had been just as mean to Draco as he was to them when they were at Hogwarts. Why couldn't Ron see that Draco wasn't the bad guy anymore? Instead of shouting all this out, however, Harry calmly looked straight into Ron's eyes. "Ron. I don't want this to be any harder than it has to be. Draco is my… friend … now. He is living with me. Yeah, I know that is against the law but I'm trusting you to keep a secret. And I've invited him to come here with me."

Anger seemed to flash through Ron's features but it was soon clouded with yet another look of confusion. "Malfoy and you are friends?"

Harry nodded. "I think it's time I re-introduced you to him," Harry said and as if on cue, Draco stepped hesitantly into the room.

For a moment, there was silence. It wasn't a peaceful silence, like the ones Harry and Draco often shared whilst lying beside each other at night. It wasn't even an angry silence. It was a dead silence. No emotion at all surging through the air, just the two enemy boys staring at each other with as much hatred, if not more, as they had when they were younger.

"Weasley," Draco spat, breaking the empty silence with his harsh tone of voice.

"Malfoy," Ron spat back, just as aggressively.

And then, Hermione's voice rang out, saving the day once again.

"Dinner!" she yelled from the kitchen in which she had retreated to after bringing Teddy away from Ron and Harry earlier that evening.

Ron was the first to react. Harry watched as he walked haughtily out of the room, with a strange, authority-like spring in his step which made him look quite full of himself. Draco glared at him as he retreated from the room, and then directed his glare at Harry when Ron was out of sight. Ron's presence seemed to have made things the way they used to be. Draco and Harry were mere children whom hated each other, and no longer the adults they had become.

"Potter," Draco scowled. "I don't know why I agreed to coming here. I'm in the home of a no good Blood-Traitor and filthy little Mudblood! If my Father knew…"

But Harry never got to find out what Draco would do if his Father knew because Draco had stopped speaking. He seemed to realize where he was and what he was doing. He seemed to remember that he was no longer in school. He was no longer a Slytherin hating on a Gryffindor. His father was no longer a threat; he was dead.

Draco brought his cold grey eyes up to meet Harry's. Harry was having trouble recognizing the look Draco was giving him.

"Behave," Harry said and then walked off towards the kitchen.

Dinner was an unpleasant and awkward meal. More than once, arguments broke out between Ron and Draco. Teddy seemed to be utterly confused with the way the two men were treating each other. He eventually settled on looking like Hermione and Harry rather than the two fatherly-figures who were now spitting insults at each other quite repulsively.

But most of the meal was eaten in silence. Hermione occasionally tried to start a conversation, but Draco seemed to be unwilling to talk to her almost as much as he was to Ron. After each attempt, Hermione shot Harry a worrisome and helpless look, but Harry had no idea what to do to break out of the awkward session they had all joined.

To make matters worse, Draco ate hardly anything. Hermione and Ron didn't know that Draco usually ate petite portions and Ron kept shoving food in his mouth and glaring at Draco, obviously thinking Draco didn't like his soon-to-be-wife's cooking, or that he was afraid to dirty himself by her Mudblood hands having prepared the food.

When the meal eventually ended, Hermione, Harry and Ron cleared the dishes away. Draco didn't say a word of thanks for the meal, nor did he lift a finger to try and help clear up. Harry thought it best if they left as soon as possible. But he was filled with a strange sort of regret about how things had turned out. He wanted Ron and Hermione to know how much Draco meant to him. He wanted more effort put in on Ron's side to try and be friends with Draco. Eventually, he could think of nothing to do but pull Hermione over and explain his frustration to her.

"Hermione, look, don't tell Ron," Harry began. "I still haven't told you everything… I mean, Draco and I…we…we're in love," Harry finished a bit pathetically. Hermione's eyes shone however; a reaction far from the one Harry was expecting.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione screeched in a low whisper so that Ron in the other room wouldn't hear. "Harry, I might not know everything about you, but I'm not daft! I see the way you talk about Draco, the way you and Draco's hands were constantly brushing under the table at dinner, the way you look at Teddy when he takes a mix between you and Draco's forms!"

Harry's face broke into a smile. He grinned goofily at Hermione, not quite sure if her having assumed what was going on was a good thing or a bad thing. Eventually, he decided it was good.

"Just…just don't tell Ron, alright?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded and as Harry opened his mouth to speak again, she filled in the words for him, "You want to tell him. You rather he heard it from you. I know."

Harry smiled again and then said, "Thanks Hermione. I suppose Draco and I should leave now."

Hermione's eyes had obtained a mischievous glint.

"What?" Harry questioned, trying to uncover what the bushy-haired girl was thinking.

"Well," Hermione began.

"What?" Harry asked again.

"Well. Ronald and I could take Teddy. And you and Mal – err – Draco, can have some…quality time together."

Harry stared at her. Then he comprehended what she was saying. Then he stared some more, trying to find out if she was actually thinking along the same lines he was.

"Hermione. You are brilliant, honestly," he said. And then he hugged her.

Mere moments later he was standing in the doorway with Draco at his side.

Teddy was frantically waving goodbye with his pudgy little hands, screaming, "Bye-bye Dadda! Bye-byes Pappa!"

Hermione laughed a little as Teddy did this and Harry prayed that Ron hadn't heard Teddy's screams. A moment later, Ron walked into the room and saw Harry and Draco standing in the doorway. He promptly walked up to Harry and hugged him.

"Sorry mate," he whispered as he hugged Harry and Harry knew Ron was trying to make up for his behavior throughout dinner and when first re-meeting Draco.

As a sort of a truce, Ron held out his hand to the blonde, who stared at it for a moment before shaking it. The men looked at each other and nodded and then Draco turned towards Hermione. He gently took her hand in his and kissed it lightly in a polite, gentleman like gesture. He was attempting to be kind but this seemed to turn Ron's anger switch back on rather than loosen him up a bit more. This lead to Draco and Harry being led quickly out of the house and the door shut in their faces.

Harry sighed, grabbed Draco's hand and apparated.

As soon as they appeared in their home, Harry let out another sigh. One of relief. He stood for a moment, staring at Draco. Draco's mouth then cut into the only real smile Harry had seen since they had been at Ron and Hermione's. Draco flashed Harry his sexy crooked smirk and then took Harry into his arms, whispering something into his ear.

"Alone at last."


	9. Alone

**Chapter 9- Alone**

**A/N Hi guys! I see that a lot of you have liked my story so far and I really appreciate all the comments that I have been receiving. I know that changing the rating might lose me some of my audience, but for what I want to happen, I need to. So, fair warning, the story is now rated M, especially this chapter. For language as well as…err… adult themes. Please R & R! Hearts, erinmalfoy**

Harry breathed in deeply, enjoying the feeling of Draco holding him. He had a new sense of freedom, a feeling that rushed over him, spreading a calm rush of joy throughout his body. He felt as if mounds of stress had been lifted off his shoulders, and he felt like everything about this moment was just how it should be. Draco. And Harry. Together. Alone.

Alone was a word Draco had once feared. He had fought to live with his loneliness, every day for four years before Harry found him. It had been one of the contributing factors to his near-death. And now, at this very moment, Draco felt like there was nothing better than being alone. With Harry. Just the two of them. So, then again, he was not really alone. But in a sense he was…they were.

Slowly, Harry turned his head to face Draco's, his green eyes wide and shining, his hair ruffled and messy as usual. His eyes bore into the grey ones of his partner's, before they closed. As Harry closed his eyes, he let his face tilt forwards; he let his lips find those of the blonde. He let Draco's tongue slither into his mouth, exploring it. He kissed back with as much passion as Draco was pouring into him. He felt as if he wanted nothing more. Nothing could ever be better than this.

Harry and Draco were now panting slightly, but the kissing was not feverish or rushed. It was slow, enjoyable, relaxing, rewarding. But Draco wanted more. He showed that by removing his lips from Harry's, only to lead them down Harry's neck. As he sucked on the smooth skin of the dark-haired boy, he began to unbutton Harry's shirt. Harry lent his head back and groaned in pleasure, noticing the swiftness in which Draco had unbuttoned his shirt. Then, once Harry's shirt was off, Draco moved his lips down Harry's chest, but Harry stopped him before he got too far.

"Draco," Harry whispered. "Draco, do you really want to do this. Are you sure?" Harry felt like he was ruining the moment, but he needed to know if this was a one-night stand sort of thing or if it actually meant something. Harry knew that he would give himself to Draco no matter what, but he wanted to make sure Draco was willing to do the same.

"Where are my manners," Draco said smoothly, going onto one knee and taking Harry's hand into his own. "Harry, my love. The question is, do you want to do this?" Draco asked.

"Of course. Yes," Harry said and then he walked out of the doorway, towards the bedroom.

Draco followed curiously. Harry obviously wanted to do this right, on the bed, with the one he loved, none of this sex-only-for-fun sort of stuff, but the real deal.

When Draco entered however, he found Harry sitting on the bed, smiling, not really sure of what was supposed to happen next.

"Relax," Draco purred as he came closer to Harry. Harry's tense shoulders eased a little.

"Relax," Draco whispered again, still advancing on him. This time, Harry stood up, ready to take Draco into his arms, but Draco denied him that, leaning down instead to Harry's crotch.

"Relax," Draco said one last time, as he unzipped Harry's jeans and pulled down Harry's underwear.

A moment later, Harry groaned as Draco performed a deed Harry had never had performed on him before. Harry literally felt as if the opposite of a Dementor had just entered the room; it was the exact counter to the feelings of depression that Dementors brought. It was a feeling of pure joy, pure happiness; a feeling so exotic, so intense, unlike anything Harry had ever felt before. And before he knew it, Draco's lips were upon his again, Draco eagerly pressing his mouth to any part of Harry's body he could find. And Harry was doing the same, tearing off Draco's clothes, and kissing his pale, fragile skin.

_This is love,_ Harry thought as he and Draco kissed. _This is love. _

Draco was on top of him, pressing him into the bed, his legs spread out, one on either side of Harry's body. He was pressing down so hard and kissing Harry so immensely passionately he seemed to be putting hardly any effort into anything else, even breathing. Draco almost seemed to have stopped breathing completely.

There were muffled sounds coming from both boys as the kissing and feeling got more intense, but it wasn't until Draco had finally broken the barrier, turned Harry over and pushed into him that the real noise was heard. Harry screamed.

And a few, lengthy moments later, all noise was quieted. They lay next to each other, hands intertwined, their breathing steadily and quietly, panting slightly from the work out they'd just had.

"I love you," Harry whispered into the sweet not-so-silence.

"I love you too," Draco replied, squeezing Harry's hand. And he meant it. Draco meant what he said, he really loved Harry. This experience had been so unlike the others in which Draco had had and Draco preferred this. By far.

"You were my first," Harry whispered after a while. At this, Draco stayed silent, a deep, uneasy sinking in his stomach. He had heard that tone of voice before, from more than one person. Harry thought Draco and him shared a special we-were-each-other's-firsts sort of bond and although Draco knew Harry was the one, that he loved Harry, that Harry had showed him what love was, they did not share that bond.

"Pretty good for a first timer," Draco said jokingly, attempting to find a way in which to inform Harry that Draco had done other people before without hurting Harry's feelings. There was silence.

"Immensely good, I mean," said Draco. "Incredibly and amazingly good."

Silence again. Harry seemed to be pondering what to say.

"Who was your first?" he asked after a while, his voice cracking slightly as he said it.

Draco sighed; he really didn't want to have to tell Harry this. Really didn't want to. A few moments ago, everything had been just fine.

"It doesn't really matter," Draco murmured.

"I want to know!" Harry exclaimed, pain ringing throughout every word he said.

"Bmmlmmais," Draco mumbled.

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Blaise," Draco sighed.

Silence. That awful returning silence.

"And you didn't think of telling me this before we… before we… did it?" Harry asked, his voice sounding shrill and upset. "You didn't think I'd care? You didn't even bother to warn me that… that… that this wasn't anything special?"

"It was special!" Draco argued. "Harry look, Blaise and I were young, we got drunk, and we wanted to have a bit of fun. Like I told you ages ago, we were closer than anyone thought! That's why I was… upset when he was killed."

Draco seemed to be making things worse.

"Oh, you loved him did you? That's what you mean. You said 'I love you' to him just like you did to me a few moments ago. And you don't care, you don't care that I MEANT IT. You don't care that I REALLY love you, do you? I'm just some sick sex-toy aren't I? Always think you can get what you want, don't you, Malfoy?" Harry screamed, fury pounded into each word, fire spitting with each syllable.

"No! Harry, it's not like that! I love you, you…it is different with you, it's _real_ with you," Draco said, a pleading tone in his voice. He didn't want to lose Harry, not now, not after everything that had happened between them.

"You're just saying that to get what you want, you slimy git!" Harry yelled. "Well you know what? You're not getting it. Not this time, Malfoy."

Harry stood up, pulled his jeans back on and then went to leave the room. Draco stared helplessly after him for a moment, but when Harry reached the door he turned around.

Draco could see the fury clouding his eyes, Draco knew that no matter what, that fury was going to take over Harry's actions.

"I thought I loved you. I was fucking wrong," Harry said before he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

"Wait, Harry! I wanted to explain before we… but I didn't think… I… I'm sorry! Please don't leave me alo -" But Draco was cut off as the door to the front of the house slammed sharply.

"Alone," he whispered into the empty silence, the sound of the door slamming still echoing in his ears.


	10. The Tale of a Slytherin

**Chapter 10- The Tale of a Slytherin **

Anger surged through Harry; pushing him on, farther away from his home, forcing him to continue to walk away from Draco. Anger so harsh, so strong that it felt as if his blood was boiling, his veins being ripped at, a furious monster inside of him wanting to tear his body apart and attack everything he could. And Harry wanted to let this monster erupt, or rather he _had _let the monster erupt. That was why he was outside, walking steadily closer to a Muggle-bar whilst Draco was back in their home, no _his _home, alone and forgotten. Well no, Draco, or Malfoy rather, was not forgotten. He was fresh in Harry's mind, feeding the anger thriving within Harry's body.

_How dare he, _Harry thought. _How dare he go and do things and not tell me about them? I thought we shared something special. I thought that our relationship meant something. Obviously not. Obviously I am just a stupid sex toy. _

At this last thought, Harry lashed out and kicked a nearby fence so hard that it clanked and shook, expressing Harry's anger for him. But then, there was another voice inside Harry's head. A small voice telling him he was being irrational. Harry had admitted to himself before that he knew only about half the things Malfoy had been up to in school and could easily imagine the rest. Draco probably would have told Harry eventually not wanting to ruin the perfect moment they were having. And it wasn't really Draco's fault anyway. They had both hated each other back then so it really shouldn't make a difference…

_Shut up! _Harry commanded the rational voice. At the moment, he didn't want to think rationally. He didn't want this to be some mistake he had made. Yes, he had stormed out and no, it probably had not been the smartest thing to do, but it was Draco's fault! Draco had caused this! And Harry was going to let Draco take the blame. No, Harry was going to _make _Draco take the blame. Who cared if Harry left Draco alone? Draco could go kill himself for all he cared…

With this thought, his stomach sunk bitterly, but he ignored it as he had now reached the entrance to the Muggle-bar. Harry knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to make Draco pay for hurting him, no matter what it took.

* * *

><p>Draco on the other hand was still sitting in the dark bedroom. He was curled up under the bed covers, tears pouring down his face, his hands clenched tightly together. He had messed things up, it was his fault. Harry didn't love him anymore; he had no reason to live. Slowly, Draco stood up, getting out of bed and taking Harry's shirt off the ground. Harry had stormed out in nothing but jeans and his shirt was lying there, ready for Draco to put it on. Tears slipped silently to the floor as Draco picked up the shirt. It smelled like the man he loved so much.<p>

Slowly, Draco left the bedroom. He wandered the house a while, pacing up and down through its rooms, remembering his short-lived life here. He then proceeded to the kitchen where he went to the cutlery drawer. He opened it, more tears blurring his vision as he clasped his hand tightly around the wooden handle of a sharp knife. He couldn't see what he was doing, but he didn't care. He was going to try until the task was accomplished. It was something he should have accomplished months ago, had Harry not interfered.

Draco closed his eyes for a moment, and forced his tears to stop falling. When he opened his eyes, things were clear again even though he was engulfed by darkness. The moon was shining through the windows glinting off the knife. He held his shaking hand up, about to slice the knife across his wrist. All he needed was one swift movement, then the pain would end, it would all be over.

But the swift movement never came. An image; a photograph caught his eye just before he had brought the knife across his wrist. He heard the knife clatter to the ground; banging loudly and echoing through the silence as he approached the image. It was a picture of Teddy, looking like a mix between Draco and Harry. Teddy was smiling and waving from the picture, looking as if this was the happiest he had been in his life; when he was with Draco and Harry. And then Draco realized what he had to do. Harry might have left him, but Draco couldn't be selfish enough to leave the world. Not yet at least. He had a son to take care of.

* * *

><p>She was blonde; she was flaunting her skinny body and overly-large breasts. She was giggling in a high pitched annoying giggle as Harry walked into the bar, shirtless. A group of boys were standing around her, but even though Harry was modest, he knew that he wasn't all that bad looking. And he knew he had caught her eye.<p>

Harry hadn't really been interested in girls since Cho. He hadn't really thought about them much. In fact, after Cho, he had begun to think about others. Secretly lusting over his enemy, Draco Malfoy, was the first sign that Cho would be the last girl he was interested in. But this was different. It wasn't like Harry was interested in her, no. His anger was though. His craving to make Draco hurt knew she was exactly the specimen he needed.

"Hey," he said gruffly, walking over to her. Glares from her surrounding party, guys backing away, knowing she had chosen someone that wasn't them. Girls surrounding them giggled. She giggled.

"Hi," she said in a sickly-sweet voice. She was twirling her long blond hair around one finger, giggling and biting her lip.

"Are you gunna buy me a drink?" she asked after Harry said nothing, her voice annoyingly high pitched and girly.

"Yeah, sure," Harry replied. But then he realized he had no money. No big deal though, she was easy, he'd just tell her he had better drinks back at his place, she would come and the plan would be in action.

"I've got better drinks back home…if you know what I mean," Harry said in a false-manly voice, one so unlike his own.

She giggled again and waved back at a few of her friends. Harry put his hand around her waist and led her to the door of the dim-lit bar. Soon enough they were outside, walking towards Harry's home.

"I don't even know your name yet," she giggled.

"Dylan," Harry said, speaking the first sexy-sounding name that popped into his head, one to match the gruff voice he was using.

More giggles. It reminded Harry greatly of his time back in his fourth year when he had to ask a girl to the ball. He had thought, _giggling should be made illegal_ and he thought the same thing now. Only, back then he had thought it for a completely different reason. He had been embarrassed to ask someone to the ball. Now he just thought it was plain annoying.

"I'm Candi," said the girl. Harry eyed her suspiciously.

"Well, that's what my besties call me. Really I'm just Charlotte. But I'm not a normal, old boring Charlotte's-Web type Charlotte. Nah, I'm a _dirty _Charlotte."

Harry could hear the well-rehearsed tone of her voice; she had said this to other guys before. How many? Harry didn't want to know.

* * *

><p>Draco stood outside Ron and Hermione's house feeling extremely nervous. He was properly dressed and in his best clothes, wanting to look formal and put together when he collected Teddy. He didn't want them to know anything unusual was going on. Yet, it was not exactly normal to pick up a four year old in the early hours of the morning… but… Draco definitely wasn't staying in their company, Harry was gone, and Teddy was really his only option, unless he wanted to be alone. Which he did not.<p>

He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again, harder this time. He heard feet getting grumpily out of bed. Lighter feet springing to the ground. Grunts. Whispers. He knocked again. The lighter feet, without doubt Hermione's, were coming to the door. She opened it and her mouth dropped open but she quickly came to her senses and closed it again.

"Mal- Draco?" she asked, confusion dancing on her tired features.

"Harry asked me to come pick up young Teddy," Draco lied smoothly. Hermione's confusion subsided for a moment; she was too tired to properly comprehend what Draco had said, only knowing that he needed Teddy.

"Come in," Hermione mumbled. 'Is everything Oh- Oh – OK?" she asked, opening her mouth into a wide yawn.

"Yes," Draco said. "Everything is in perfect condition." Hermione missed the slight edge to his tone of voice.

Moments later, Teddy was in Draco's arms, tired, but awake and Draco was walking with him back towards Harry's house, just liking the feeling to have someone with him. When he was a good few meters away from Ron and Hermione's home, he decided he should probably get back and he hugged Teddy close to his body before apparating, appearing only a few seconds later in a still empty home. But even if Harry wasn't here, at least he was no longer completely alone.

Once they were home, Draco carried a sleepy Teddy to his nursery. He laid Teddy down softly in his little bed and ruffled his hair lovingly.

"There once was a boy," Draco sang softly. Teddy sat up a little bit, eager to hear this new song.

Draco's voice dropped into its normal tone. He was whispering slightly, but all the music had drained out of his voice.

"Teddy," Draco whispered, "tonight I am going to tell you a story instead of a singing, alright?"

Teddy's eyes lit up and he cuddled further under the covers and closer to Draco, ready for a long tale. "Teddaa would wuv to heawr Pappa tell a stowy," he said.

"Alright," Draco replied. "This is a story of a small boy. He was much like you Teddy. He was a good little boy, only with a mommy and a daddy."

"I fink I'm lucky," Teddy interrupted. "I fink some people have just a momma and a dadda but I have two daddas. A Dadda and a Pappa. And I fink that is better, rewlly. Now Teddaa just needs two mommas!"

Draco laughed softly. "This boys mommy loved him very much. She was very kind to him, and very protective of him. But his daddy was not. His daddy got mixed up with the wrong sort of people. His daddy was mean, and didn't care for the little boy much."

"Da boys dadda was a bad guy?" Teddy asked.

"Yes," Draco answered. "But the little boy didn't mind much. He went places with his mommy, he was very rich and could have any toys he wanted. One day, this little boy met another little boy. And that little boy he liked very much. But the little boy didn't like him. The little boy did not want to be his friend. But, he was alright with that. He found other friends. He did good at his wizarding school. He got sorted into Slytherin."

"I want to go to wizard school one day," Teddy said dreamily. "Pappa, you was a Slytherin too! Just like the wittle boy! But Dadda was a Gwffindor. I dunnwo what I want to be. Maybe a Slytherin like you Pappa…"

"Yes, well," Draco said, silently pleased that Teddy admired him so much. "The little boy grew up and the little boys daddy grew up too. He became meaner and more bad. He was friends with the worst bad guy of all. And the little boy became sad. The little boy started to make wrong decisions. One day, the baddest of all bad guys came to the little boy's father and said that the little boy was going to have to hurt another boy."

"But the wittle boy didn't do it, right? The wittle boy was a good guy and saved the day! Happily ever after!" Teddy concluded with pride in his voice.

"No…" Draco whispered. "The little boy didn't want to hurt the other one, but he had to. Or the evil bad guy would hurt his whole family. But then, a good guy came. A good guy came and hurt the other boy so the little boy wouldn't have to."

"But…but…good guys don't hurt other good guys," Teddy said.

"No, usually they don't." Draco replied. "But this good guy did because he had to help the little boy. And the little boy was grateful. And sad, because after that his life changed a lot. Remember the little boy found a guy he wanted to be friends with? Well, that guy went on with life and the little boy was told he couldn't be a wizard anymore."

"Why not?" Teddy asked.

"Because he had to hurt the other boy, remember? And even though he didn't do it…he had done other bad things, made other bad choices. And the little boy was sent away. The little boys daddy was hurt. Very badly hurt so that he wouldn't get better again."

"Well, that is a good thing, right Pappa? Because the wittle boy had a bad dadda."

"But even though his daddy was bad, the little boy still loved him, right? So this made the little boy very sad. But one day, the little boy met up with the guy again. The one who didn't want to be friends with him. And they became friends. They became best friends and they watched over a little boy of their own. They lived wonderfully together."

"And happily ever after." Teddy said.

Draco was silent for a few moments, and was stroking Teddy's hair again. After a few moments he said, "I wish it were happily ever after Teddy."

But Teddy was asleep.

"But the little boy messed things up again. And the other boy stormed out. And the little boy was left alone. So alone." Tears were welling up in Draco's eyes. Teddy didn't hear a word of what he said; he was fast asleep and Draco didn't want to wake him. Silently, Draco got up and left. As he closed the door to Teddy's room, he thought he heard the front door open. He quickly cast a silencing charm over Teddy's door, blocking out all noises so that those outside the room wouldn't hear the noises inside the room and the inside of the room wouldn't hear what was happening outside of it. If Harry was home, Draco didn't want to wake the small boy with arguing and yelling, and if Harry was home, that was all that was going to happen. Harry would yell at Draco, blame Draco. And Draco would take the blame as if it were rightly deserved if it got him Harry back.

* * *

><p>As Harry walked through the door, arm and arm with 'dirty Charlotte' he thought he heard the muttering of a silencing charm off in the neighboring hallway. Charlotte looked up at him questioningly as if she too had heard it and wondered if Harry, or Dylan as she knew him, was not the single man he put out to be. Harry quickly pretended he hadn't heard anything, and led her into the living room.<p>

The couch that Harry and Draco had sat on together so often was now unoccupied. Charlotte glanced at Harry with a small smile on her face, and then, Harry leaned in and kissed her. It was not a pleasant feeling. He could feel her slippery lipstick all over his mouth and her tongue was moving rapidly, shoving itself down his throat as her overly large breasts uncomfortable rubbed against Harry's chest. Harry kissed her back however, almost in a passionate fashion, not really thinking, only thinking that this was the perfect thing to do to get back at Draco.

In a moment, they were on the couch. The next moment, the girls clothes had left her and Harry's pants had been unbuttoned. And then, it happened. Almost too fast to even realize.

Draco came bursting into the room. He had been waiting in the hall, waiting for Harry to come find him and then hearing that smacking noises and the groans and knowing Harry had not entered their home alone. Draco had had enough of hearing noises and had gone to see what was going on. He burst into the room exactly as Harry broke into Charlotte who was making the girly-est of girly noises as Harry pushed into her. Draco looked affronted. His mouth fell open in shock, his carefully built up wall of bundled emotions broke open as his mouth kept hanging there, his eyes not believing what he was seeing.

_Harry. His Harry, doing...doing this?_

Harry looked up from Charlotte, a look of repulsion on his face, but also a smug look of accomplishment as if now him and Draco were now even. And then, he saw Draco. And his world shattered.

He jumped off the couch. He scrambled over to where his pants were and pulled them on. His stomach sank. This was not how this was supposed to feel. Revenge was supposed to be sweet, he was supposed to have felt accomplished after having done this. But he did not. He felt terrible, utterly terrible. There were no words to describe the depths in which he hated himself for doing it. And no words to describe the sudden realization, the sudden understanding of how wrong it all was. He had, plainly, overreacted. Of course Draco had done other people before him! And of course Draco was not an innocent little child. How could Draco be at such an age and be such a, well, sex god and not have done things like this before? And Harry had cheated on him. Harry had overreacted…big time. And it felt horrible.

"Out," he barked at Charlotte, throwing her the clothes she had left on the floor. She looked scared for a moment and Harry almost felt bad. Almost.

"Out!" he snarled again and she left quickly, whimpering and pulling her clothes on as she did so.

Harry looked at Draco and opened his mouth to apologize, his eyes stinging with remorse, his stomach churning with guilt and regret. But before he could do anything, Draco grabbed at Harry's pocket and ripped out Harry's wand.

He held the wood, his hands visibly shaking, pointing the weapon straight at Harry, tears of fury and hatred shining in his cold grey eyes.

"Fiendfyre," he whispered as flames erupted from the wand in his hands.


	11. Fiendfyre

**Chapter 11- Fiendfyre**

The fire roared around them; flames shooting in Harry's direction from the wand; monsters erupting from the depths of the fire. In an instant, Draco cut off the spell. Unlike Crabbe had been, Draco was a powerful wizard, although he had been out of practice for four years, and was able to control the Dark Magic almost with ease. He cut off the flames and left, throwing Harry's treasured phoenix-feather wand into fire with a sickening sound of crackling as the wand was destroyed. The sound of a slamming door was heard as Draco departed, leaving Harry engulfed in the fury of heat.

Although Draco had cut off the spell, the fire had been born. It demolished everything in its path, licking along the walls, becoming stronger after every piece of Harry's home it destroyed.

They were everywhere; giant serpents, dragons, harsh creatures erupting from the depths of the cursed fire, making the fire into a living creature, one with only one purpose; to destroy.

Harry was too shocked by Draco's movements to have taken immediate action. By the time he realized he was about to die, by the time that the thought of fleeing from the fire sunk in, he was almost completely surrounded by it. Spitting, hissing, burning and erupting flames covering all but one small section of the room. The path to the front door was blocked, the only thing for Harry to do was to run through the kitchen and down the hall.

The flames followed, destroying everything in their path. The heat pained Harry's eyes immensely and his body felt as if it would burst. But he had to keep running. Running from the haze of flickering fire tracking him down; threatening to end the harsh life he lived.

As Harry ran to the edge of the hall he found himself cornered by the monstrous flames. The doors around him were destroyed as the flames took over anything in their paths. And then, Harry heard it.

A small scream; a terrified, blood-curdling scream. A scream that came from the voice of a child. The powerful flames had bust through Teddy's door; the Dark Magic abolished the silencing charm placed on Teddy's door by Draco.  
>The scream continued and a scrambling of little legs could be heard. Then wailing, crying, pleading for Dadda to come, for Pappa to save him.<p>

_Teddy, _thought Harry. But how could it be? Teddy was safe and sound at Hermione and Ron's house…how could the scream belong to the one he treated like a son?

The crying and pleading grew louder, the screams more immediate, more terrified, more heart-breaking. It all happened in such a short amount of time, that before Harry knew what he was doing, he was at the nursery door. Teddy was huddled in the farthest corner of the room, his hands over his ears, eyes squeezed shut and mouth opened wide in a terrified scream. Tears were leaking down his face; he was crying so hardly that his features seemed blurred. His hair was singed and the smell of burnt fabric had joined that of the burnt wood. In one swift movement, Harry had found himself at the other end of the room and lifting Teddy into his arms, despite the flames.

It was as if they were in a horrible nightmare; clutching to each other whilst flames of anger, serpents and dragons spat at them. Teddy was still screaming; his voice piercing the night. A child in distress, a child about to die, a _child_… it was a sound that could have made Harry's heart break over and over again had it not been beating so harshly in an attempt to survive.

There was a rush of golden flames around them; everything a hazy blur, and only one thought going through Harry's mind; _get to the door. _

Harry no longer had a wand; Draco had made sure of that. So he ran instead. Nearly the entire building had been devoured, nearly everything in Harry's flat destroyed. Harry could hear distantly, over the roaring sound of the flames, a Muggle police car and fire engine coming towards their house. But they would never be able to cease the ever burning fire. Only a wizard would have the power to do so…a wizard with a _wand, _that is.

In a few moments, Harry found himself at the window; the only free escape. On the ground below were people; Muggles who had also owned flats in the building, staring at the strange fiery shapes and… _Draco. _He was sitting, deeply engulfed in the shadows, but he was there none-the-less. He had not fled, but at the moment, Harry wished he had. The anger that had burst upon him earlier that evening was ripe once more; and it was the only thing that let Harry and Teddy survive.

Just as the flames were about to take their lives, Harry stepped onto the window ledge. He jumped to the side of the building, grabbing hold of a pipe with one hand and grasping Teddy with the other. His anger was being forced into strength; into power. Harry was hanging from the side of the burning building, close enough to the ground that no serious injuries could occur. With Teddy safe in his arms, he jumped, landing on his back in the grass where a crowd had soon gathered around him, all of the onlookers wondering what had happened as this strange fire had started in his flat.

The rest of the evening was a blur for Harry. Almost as soon as he had hit the ground, Ministry officials had arrived. Draco had stayed hidden in the bushes and Harry had taken Teddy and hid as well. Ever since the Crabbe incident a few years ago, Ministry Officials had been able to track down magical fires and stop them before anyone was hurt. At least that's what they were supposed to do. If Draco were seen at the scene of the crime, he would be killed. If Harry were seen at the scene of crime, he would be questioned and could lose his job, or even be Outcast like Draco had been. Laws were stricter at this time; the fear of Death Eaters still among everyone. The Ministry Officials were smart; they knew this was Harry's house, but if Harry was nowhere to be seen they would not blame it on him. The famous Harry Potter would not have used Dark Magic. And they were right, it hadn't been Harry. It had been his lover. Draco.

But was he still Harry's lover? Despite the near death situation, the anger possessing Harry had calmed down. Teddy lay in Harry's arms, hoping beyond hope that everything he had just encountered had been a nightmare; a terrible nightmare. Harry was still angry, yes. But at the moment, he had to look after Teddy. And he had to look after Draco. No matter how bad a person, no one deserved to die.

Before he could protest, Harry headed over to the shadow in which Draco had been hiding. Draco looked up, staring daggers at Harry with tears in his eyes. Harry's stomach immediately dropped with pity and then, the anger took hold of him once more. With force, Harry grabbed Draco's wrist and Disapparated, arriving at Ron and Hermione's house, the one place where they could possibly take refuge.


	12. In love

**Chapter 12- In love **

It was around five in the morning when they arrived. Ron answered the door instead of Hermione this time, looking tired and annoyed until he saw Harry standing there, Teddy in one arm, his other hand firmly clenched around Draco's wrist. That was when confusion mingled with concern was shown plainly on his face. In a few moments, Hermione had been called over.

"Harry?" she asked, her voice breaking as she stared at Harry's ash-covered face and Teddy's small, burnt hands. She then directed her gaze at Draco, whom seemed to be using all his power in an attempt to mask the tears that had been falling; to regain some of his Slytherin pride.

Without asking, she let them in. It was late, or early rather, and they were all tired, so Harry had explained briefly and hurriedly about the incident. Draco noticed with some gratitude that Harry did not mention what the fire was caused by, in fact, throughout the story, Harry had made it seem as if the fire were created merely from a Muggle incident, and had nothing to do with magic what-so-ever. Draco was angry with himself for losing control like that, but he didn't want Harry to know. He was also angry at Harry for the ridiculously over exaggerated measures he had taken.

After the explanation was over, Hermione led them to the living room where she conjured a bed for them. Ron glanced at her curiously, with a strange look of somewhat disapproval as he conjured another bed. Harry realized that he still hadn't mentioned to Ron that Draco and him had been... well… sleeping together. And he didn't think now would be exactly the right moment.

Without another word, Teddy was taken to the spare room in which he always stayed in at Ron and Hermione's house. Harry listened as Teddy was put to bed and almost as soon as he heard Ron and Hermione getting back into bed, he fell asleep.

The night had been long; full of emotional exhaustion in more than one way and neither Draco nor Harry woke up until late the next day. It was around seven o' clock in the evening when Harry finally lifted his head back up off the pillow. At first, he was disoriented and confused, but a moment later, the sweet confusion had left him as the nights events came rushing back to him in painful blurs.

He looked over at the bed besides his own, half expecting to see it empty, to see that Draco had left, but instead was greeted by the sight of the blonde, curled up tightly in a ball, hugging his knees to his chest, seeming to have fallen asleep crying. His beautifully carved features were not relaxed in sleep, but wore a painful expression that made all his feelings easy to read. Draco was angry at Harry; Draco was angry with himself, and Draco was _hurt. _

Harry rolled over in his own bed, so that his view was of the door leading to the kitchen. Behind said door, small clanking noises were drifting to his ears; the sound of forks, knives and spoons being used to serve and eat a meal. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have gotten up and joined Ron, Hermione and possible Teddy for dinner, but he was in no such mood to eat at the moment.

He needn't get up anyway, even if he were hungry, as a few minutes later, Hermione came through the door he was staring aimlessly at.

"Harry?" she whispered, glancing over at Draco's bed and then locking her eyes with the raven-haired man's. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Hermione. But I kind of want to sleep. Is Teddy alright?" Harry felt slightly guilty at his snappishness, but he was really in no mood to create small talk.

"Teddy's been sleeping just as you and Mal- Draco have," Hermione replied. She then offered Harry food and gently ruffled his hair after he declined, before leaving back to Ron.

Harry lay there for two more hours, listening as Ron and Hermione got into bed, not willing to get up, not willing to think, not wanting anything but to lie there in the soft bed for evermore. Eventually, Harry turned over in bed again, so he was facing Draco who had slowly begun to open his eyes.

He seemed to experience the same thing Harry had as he first awoke, but as soon as his eyes met Harry's, they widened and tears began to brim at their edges as he remembered. And then, Draco stood up.

"You… you filthy half-blood, cheating... scum!" Draco hissed and Harry felt himself rising to his feet.

"Oh yeah?" he heard himself say; anger was overriding the guilt inside of him; threatening to overtake his body once more. "You were the one who set the house on fire! You were the one who nearly _killed _Teddy!"

"I overreacted!" Draco screamed, his voice rising in anger. Both boys had themselves be taken over by monstrous amounts of anger, both boys forgotten their surroundings, not caring for anything but the words they were spitting at each other. "I overreacted. Just like you did with that… that… that _whore_!"

"You and her have two things in common, you know?" Harry replied, "You've both done countless amounts of people and you've both done me." His voice shook as he said the last word, pain passing through every syllable of his sentences.

"Who cares?" Draco screamed, "Who cares, Potter? I had done so many people so long ago and you went and _cheated _on me! Why? And with – with – a blonde _chick_?"

"You cheated on me! And besides, it didn't mean anything with her… I was just – "

"Using her! You were using her! And I didn't cheat on you! You don't know how it feels to be used, do you? I might not have much sympathy for her, seeing as she tried to steal my boyfriend but – "

"I do know how it feels to be used!" Harry screamed, "You used me! I was some stupid sex toy!"

"No you weren't! I love you! More than anything Harry…" Draco trailed off, leaving a moments silence. Harry watched as Draco's eyes glinted and he looked up. The grey eyes slicing into the green.

"I know how it feels like to be used, Harry. You want to know the Blaise story? Well here it is. Blaise and I had sex. For me it meant something, for him, it meant nothing. Later on we both got into trouble. We hadn't done it… er … safely enough and the Potions Master found out. Blaise dumped the responsibility on me. He claimed to have nothing to do with it. It became my fault, all my fault even though it was not. I was shattered," Draco concluded bitterly.

"I don't care about you past, Draco!" screamed Harry, refusing to let his anger subside into pity for the blonde. " You did something much worse only a few moments ago! You could have killed me! You could have killed Teddy!"

"That is in the past, Potter! I was angry! I wasn't thinking, just like now! I'm so angry. I'm so… UGH!" Draco yelled, unable to describe the emotions taking over his body.

"You know Malfoy? Ages ago I saved you. I saved your life and you repay me with this? With a potential death situation?"

"Why didn't you just let me die then?" Draco replied, his voice shaking with the meaning in his words. "Just let me die!"

"No!" Harry screamed, stepping closer to the blonde.

"What you did to me, Potter… Harry… what you did was not fair. It was an overreaction to a simple fact that I had had sex before you!" Draco shouted back, closing in the small space still left between them.

"And now you're going to pay," he hissed in Harry's ear.

In the next moment, Draco had found Harry's lips and pressed his own to them angrily. Hatred spilling though his lips with an undying passion. Draco bit down hard on Harry's lips as Harry fought to get away from Draco's harsh grip.

In the next second, Draco found his shirt being ripped from him with Harry's teeth and he immediately let his lips slide down the boys throat, sucking on it harshly, making his mark. The next few minutes were those of pure pain. Pleasurable pain. Pain as each male attacked each other, pain with each shouted insult, each shattering of pride, pain with every loving movement.

"I fucking hate you, Potter!" Draco yelled, top of his lungs, as Harry bit down eagerly on Draco's shoulder all the while pushing into the blonde.

_SLAM._

Draco's naked body was being bound tightly by ropes, harsh ropes binding his legs and arms to his back. Then a gag was being magically shoved into his mouth and Draco found himself sitting in the corner of the room, bound and gagged as he raised his head and stared into the eyes of a ginger.

"What the _hell _Malfoy?" yelled Ron Weasley, his wand raised. Harry was rapidly pulling on his pants, and looking at Ron with an expression of shock mingled with horror.

"I can call the Ministry right now! I can get you _killed, _Malfoy! What the bloody _hell _were you doing to Harry?"

Ron's hand was shaking now, his lips seemed to be fighting back the urge to use an Unforgivable curse on the former-Slytherin.

And then, Hermione walked in.

"Harry? Are you alright? We thought we heard scream – oh!" she cut herself off as her hands flew to cover her mouth. Her eyes wide, she turned away from where she had been looking; directly at the bound and naked Malfoy heir. She was now staring directly at Ron whose hand had begun to shake more than ever as he gripped his wand.

"Hermione," Ron said gruffly, "Malfoy was just harassing Harr – " But he was cut off by Hermione's exasperated speech.

"Didn't Harry tell you, Ronald?" Hermione gasped, "They're in love!"


	13. Ministry Official

**Chapter 13- Ministry Official **

It was a few months after the Ron-Hermione-Harry-Draco-Awkward-Sex-Scene and Draco and Harry were living happily together once more. It seemed that as soon as Hermione had shouted their secret to Ron, all was forgiven. Harry and Draco both formally apologized to Ron and Hermione, as well as each other.

Although Ron was always nervous around Draco and Harry, never getting used to the fact that they were together, never once looking directly at either of them, he let them stay in his and Hermione's home. Within a couple of weeks, however, they had moved out into a new, but shabby, wizarding apartment of their own, with Teddy, of course.

Their new home wasn't exactly charming. In fact, the only place Harry could compare it to was number 12 Grimmauld Place. It was musty and dirty and no matter how hard they tried to clean it, it remained as dusty and dim as ever. Although it was a Wizarding Apartment, however, it did not have any dark objects as the Black's old home did. In fact, it reminded Harry of a man he had met the summer he first stayed at Grimmauld place; Mundungus Fletcher. He was a grimy, greasy man who always smelt of cigarettes and drink. Unfortunately, their apartment shared these qualities.

Teddy did not like their apartment that much, and was staying with Ron and Hermione much more often than he had before, but it was not only the dank new home that drove him away from Draco and Harry. Ever since the fire, he had been a little apprehensive around them, not knowing who to trust. The only time he was ever alone with one of them in a room was at night when Draco sang him to sleep. Otherwise, he was constantly in the presence with both of them and if possible, Ron and Hermione. The more people around, the happier he seemed to be. During the fire, for a few earth-shattering seconds he had been in his room, completely alone as the flames burst in on him. And the event still traumatized him, even months later. Of course, Teddy's nervousness around Harry and Draco changed his appearance too. He no longer always looked like a mix between the two of them, but rather changed his features constantly, looking sometimes like Ron, sometimes like Hermione and sometimes like no one they knew at all. The events in which he had gone through affected him as well. Sometimes, his hair would burn a bright orange, not ginger, like Ron's hair, but an orange tinted with reds and yellows, changing every few seconds, mimicking the fire so perfectly, it appeared that it was emerging on his head. And his eyes changed too. Flashing orange or red with remembrance, sometimes becoming so vivid it was hard to look at them. Even his skin sometimes changed, becoming charcoal-like and ashen. Usually, when this occurred, the hair, the eyes, the skin, it was only for a few moments, his body changing almost involuntarily with the traumatic memories of his recent past. But, every time they did change, whoever was with Teddy would scoop him into their arms and caress him tight, willing him to forget and wanting to make him feel better.

A lot of thought was being put into Teddy at the moment, not only because of his feature changes but also because he had recently turned five. Harry's automatic thought when this had happened was to put him in Kindergarten as soon as September hit. Harry had done schooling before Hogwarts, normal, Muggle schooling and he didn't really know what wizards did before they turned eleven. Harry thought back, but he realized, he had never really discussed with anyone what happened before Hogwarts, not even Ron, his best friend. When he brought this matter up to Draco, Draco had said how his childhood hadn't exactly been normal. He had said that he supposed his mother had taught him some basics but his father was busy with Death Eater duty when he was extremely young and then trying to cover up that he had ever been a Death Eater when he was older. This made Harry turn to Hermione who thought for a moment before realizing she had no idea. She, like him, had grown up with Muggles and had never really spoken about Wizarding childhoods. So, they all turned to Ron, who had said he had a similar childhood to Draco; homeschooling with a little basic preparation about English and maybe a little bit of magical theory before attending Hogwarts. So it was settled that that would be done.

Although lots of thought had been put into Teddy, other issues aroused as well. Unlike a normal couple, money was rarely a topic of discussion. Both Harry and Draco had lots of money with Draco's fortune and Harry's high income and money left over from his parents. They could be living in a castle of gold, if they wanted. But because they did not want to spoil Teddy, or arouse suspicion, they stayed in their Mundungus apartment. Often they would day dream about moving somewhere else, but neither of them thought it would ever become a reality.

"We will live in the country," Harry would say, "with a big yard and a lush forest."

"And a playground for Teddy," Draco would always reply, "and a lake for skinny dipping!"

They were, of course, nothing but daydreams, but then again, dreaming never hurt anyone.

Ron and Hermione were surprisingly supportive of them. Helping with Teddy, helping them move in and keeping their secret. Of course, for a while, things were awkward. Very awkward. But once Ron got over the fact that Harry was dating (and sleeping with) a male, former Slytherin and heir of the Malfoy family, things almost went back to normal. Hermione was still more accepting than Ron, but she had known about them loving one another before walking in on them. Things were finally starting to fall back into place.

One morning, Harry awoke to find Draco's half of the bed empty. This shocked him, as they had all fallen back into a pattern of sleeping late, except Harry who usually had to get up early to go to work. The bliss that had been going on for the past few months they had been living in this new place was momentarily broken as the shock and worry surged through Harry. Had Draco tried to… kill himself… again? Harry jumped out of bed and rushed through the rooms of the house, stopping at the doorway of the kitchen where he saw Draco standing, healthily, and placing a last fork carefully on the table. He watched as Draco surveyed his work; a table filled with breakfast foods of all sorts, and nodded his head slightly in satisfaction. This was a big deal. Draco usually avoided doing any work of any kind, cooking included, and he _never_ got up early.

Draco then turned to see Harry standing in the doorway. He smiled: a boyish sort of grin with only a faint of a smirk in it.

"Wait here!" he then said and retreated into the next room. Harry walked into the room, looking at all the handiwork Draco had put in to making breakfast.

When Draco came back, he had two things clutched behind his back, unseen to Harry. Unknown to either of the boys, Teddy had woken up and was now watching slyly from the corner of the doorway. Draco then stuck out one of his hands to reveal a blossoming bunch of flowers. Harry gasped. There were roses and lilies, except in a color Harry had never seen so vibrantly before. It was a gorgeous turquoise shining beautifully and putting every other color to shame. Draco then took the other hand from outside his back, revealing a slender glass vase. He gracefully plunked the flowers into the vase and set them down carefully on the table. He then leaned in and pressed his lips lightly to Harry's.

When they had pulled apart, Harry asked, "Draco? What is this all about?"  
>"I don't know if you can remember Harry, but exactly a year ago, we re-met in a hotel in Russia. Exactly a year ago you saved my life, exactly a year ago we started living together. I suppose it's a bit of an anniversary present."<p>

"Of course I remember!" Harry said, "I just didn't know it was the exact date of today…" he trailed off before saying, "exactly a year ago, you fell in love with me?"

At this Draco laughed softly, "Harry," he began, "I've loved you more than a year. I've loved you ever since I first met you."

"That's not true," Harry replied. "You were completely enthralled with Pansy, were you not?"

"Yes," Draco admitted sheepishly. "But, I was distracting myself. You see… I knew you were different. I sort of … I sort of had a crush on you though out our years at Hogwarts but… I didn't want it to be real. I knew I could never have you. You didn't like me anyway. You liked Weasley."

"Not true," Harry said. "I know you remember the day, but remember what I said to you exactly one year ago? You asked me if I loved Ginny. I said no, I loved someone else. I was talking about you."

Draco flushed slightly pink, before leaning in and kissing Harry again. When he pulled apart, Harry said, "How?" pointing at the flowers.

"Oh, just a little help from Granger's wand. After I got the colour right, I just had to do selective breeding. You know, taking cuttings and such. Look." He gestured across the room where their small balcony was and Harry could see that some more of the brightly coloured lilies and roses were growing just outside.

"They're beautiful," Harry said. "Absolutely beautiful. And actually, I have something for you too."

Draco looked puzzled as Harry reached into his pocket, pulling out something long, slender and wooden. Draco's old Hawthorn wand.

Draco gasped, "But how? They destroyed it when I became Outcast!" he exclaimed.

Harry shook his head, a little embarrassed. "Actually, they gave it to me to destroy. I claimed to wand to… er… have the satisfaction of destroying your last piece of magic. But I kept it," he added, raising his arm to scratch behind his neck and looking down.

"Harry," Draco whispered. "Harry, I… Thank you." And he reached out and gingerly took the wand in his hands. "We'll share it… seeing as I am the reason you no longer have yours."

Then Draco reached forwards, flinging his arms around Harry's neck and pressed his lips to Harry's, kissing him, softly and sweetly. Harry replied eagerly by placing his own hands gently on Draco's fragile waist and kissing him back. They only broke apart when a small cough was heard from the doorway.

Draco, flushing slightly pink, and Harry going quite red looked at the doorway to see Teddy standing there. His hair was a bright turquoise shade, that exactly of the flowers Draco had given Harry. It was such a beautiful and exotic colour, and it told Harry and Draco how long Teddy had been standing there.

"Pappa. Dadda." Teddy nodded, smiling smugly before going and sitting down at the table.

Harry went into work late that day, the first time he had ever done so in his entire career. He was greeted by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was in a rush to tell him something.

"Harry," he began in his deep voice, "You are late. We have a new Auror mission for you an official will be coming to your house tomorrow evening at six o' clock to give you the details." He stopped for a moment, lowered his voice and whispered, "We have found some Werewolves who are," he sighed, "building, or trying to build, a resistance to the Ministry. We would not have gotten Aurors involved… but they have similar ideas to Voldemort and are trying to recruit some more followers. They already have quite a few, and we do not want to risk anything. So, you and Weasley will be going, as well as some of the other more trained Aurors."

Harry nodded. "I will be on the case, sir," he said before walking away. Even this new news did not drown his happy spirit. Draco had made this morning such a memorable one and he was sure that all the bad news in the world couldn't ruin it.

He returned that night, still glowing with joy. As soon as he saw Draco, the Auror mission was flung out of his mind. Draco helped him make dinner that night and Harry listened as Draco sang Teddy to sleep. When they finally got into bed, Harry felt his head sink into the soft pillow. It had been such a long day, when he thought about it… such a long and beautiful day, which was the thought he fell asleep with.

The next morning was Saturday, and he woke up around noon. Draco was still asleep, like usual, although Teddy could be heard in the kitchen. Sighing, Harry got out of bed and went to see what Teddy was up to. When Harry walked in, he found Teddy climbing on the table softly stroking the Turquoise Lily-Roses. Teddy's hair was still the same vibrant colour as them, and it had not changed all night.

"Teddy," Harry said and Teddy looked up from the flowers, a little bit of a guilty look on his face.

"Dadda," he replied, trying to look innocent. Harry went over to the table and picked him up, setting him down on the ground.

"Wow Teddy, you're getting big!" Harry said. "Today you're going to stay at Ron and Hermione's, alright?" he asked, deciding that it would be better if Teddy was not there when the Ministry Official came to tell Harry the details about the new Auror mission.

"Teddy would love to go to Ron and Hermione's," Teddy said. Since Teddy had turned five, there had been an abrupt change in his language. He still usually spoke in third person, but his sentences were complete and his pronunciation much better. Everyone had noticed this abrupt change which seemed to have taken place over night.

"Good," Harry replied. "Let's get you ready."

By three o' clock, Teddy was at Ron and Hermione's and Harry was back home where Draco had finally woken up.

"Where were you?" Draco asked.

"Taking Teddy to Ron and Hermione's," Harry replied. Draco was about to ask why when Harry cut him off, "I forgot to tell you last night. An official is coming to tell me about a new Auror mission. At six. You need to…well, not be present."

"Ah," Draco said.

"And help me clean up, will you?" Harry asked, teasing Draco slightly.

"You know me," Draco muttered, "just an ordinary House-Elf. Why can't we get a House-Elf?" he asked.

Harry's eyes began to well up with tears, but he quickly wiped them away. "No House-Elf," he said, remembering Dobby. "Because of… Dobby," he sighed. Draco wouldn't understand why his old House-Elf's death was bothering Harry, but he could see how upset Harry was by it.

"It's alright, love," he said. "It's alright. No House-Elf."

"Thanks Draco. Now be ready for when the official arrives."

The rest of the day was spent cleaning, when suddenly, there was a knock on Harry's door. Harry glanced at his watch. It was only five o' clock.

"Hello?" he said uncertainly, heading to the door. He was greeted by a somewhat shabby looking wizard, who let himself in. I am the Ministry Official who will be informing you about the Auror Mission," he said wheezily.

"But I thought you were not going to be here until six?" Harry asked.

"Ah, well. Like me old mum used to say, 'If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late! And if you're late you're DEAD MEAT!' Eh?" he gave a little, gruff laugh.

"Right," said Harry, ignoring the worry rising in him. "Come to the living room."

The Ministry Official followed Harry in and sat down on the couch.

"Right - " he began, but was almost immediately cut off.

"Harry?" a voice rang throughout the house. The official looked at Harry, questioningly as if to say ' I didn't know you were living with someone'.

"Harry, love? What Time did you say the Ministry Official was arriv – " but as he entered the room and saw that Harry was not alone, he stopped speaking. His mouth opened in an 'O' as he looked from the wizard back to Harry.

The wizard began to speak, "I didn't know Harry was living with… wait!" He suddenly exclaimed.

Looking from the bleach-blonde hair, the cold grey eyes, slender body and unmistakable, but faded, Dark Mark on Draco's arm, he suddenly gasped. "Malfoy? Draco Malfoy? But wasn't you… aren't you… Outcast? Oh! I see what's going on here! Mister Potter you are no longer an Auror! Banned! Living with an Outcast wizard!"

"I'm afraid you can't do that," said Harry in a forced calm voice. "You aren't from the law department."

"Then I'll call someone who is!" he screamed, shooting purple sparks out of his wand.

A second later, a strict-looking witch had appeared in the room with a loud 'CRACK'.

She assessed the situation briefly before saying, "A hearing will take place on August 12th, Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy. 11 o' clock. Do not be late. Malfoy, most likely punishment: Death. Potter, most likely punishment: loss of job. But depending on the situation…" she raised her eyes off of the clipboard where she had been taking notes. "I like you, Mister Potter. You saved the Wizarding World. Make a good case. Try and stay alive."

And with two more loud 'CRACKS' both Ministry Officials disappeared from the room.


	14. Outcast

**Chapter 14- Outcast **

Harry felt almost exactly as he had done before the trial in the summer of his fifth year. He was nervous, scared and the concept of what his punishment might be terrified him. He could be killed. Executed. Then again, as Hermione had once said, "We could have been killed, or worse expelled." In a sense, the trial in his fifth year would have had worse outcomes, he could have been expelled. And in this trial, he could only be… killed. Harry gulped. Hermione really did need to sort out her priorities.

It didn't help that the trial was scheduled for the exact same date as it had been years ago. August Twelfth. This kept it fresh in Harry's mind, all the feelings he had felt back then piled on top of the nervousness he felt now.

Draco was not taking it easy either. They had agreed that it would be best if they both used minimal magic. Harry had been suspended from work and Teddy now safely in the custody of Ron and Hermione as he had been in an 'unsafe environment' with Harry. Draco slept for almost an entire day, day after day, only getting out of bed to eat dinner with Harry, which he ate minimal of.

_Only ten days until the trial, _Harry would find himself thinking. _Only nine days, only eight days…_

Almost too soon, it was the night before the trial.

"Draco," Harry called, "Dinner!"

Draco came slowly into the kitchen, sitting down in front of a bowl full to the brim with Bouillabaisse, which Harry knew to be Draco's favorite dish. Draco sat down across from Harry, filled a spoon with the Bouillabaisse and slipped it into his mouth. He then carefully set down the spoon, got up and was about to walk away.

"Draco!" Harry exclaimed, also standing up. "What are you doing?"

Despite all the sleep Draco had been getting, he had huge, heavy circles under his eyes. His body looked fragile and he was extremely skinny from barely eating for more than a week.

"Look," Harry said, not waiting for Draco to answer his question. "You need to eat. Alright? I want you to be well fed and healthy for the trial tomorrow morning."

Draco did not say anything, but he did sit back down.

"Eat," Harry ordered. And Draco did. As soon as his bowl was empty however, he went back into their bedroom and climbed back into bed for what he was sure would be another restless night and possibly, the last night of his life.

The next morning, Harry woke up at half past five. He laid out a blue suit for Draco and pinned his Auror badge on his own shirt, so it could be seen slightly, but not entirely. He wanted to make a good impression, which for him meant subtly reminding everyone that he was an Auror and had saved the Wizarding World and for Draco… well, making him appear as far away from a Wizard and Death Eater as he possibly could. That was the reason for the blue suit. If Draco were dressed in black, he would appear to be a Death Eater. If he were dressed in Wizarding Robes… well, he would obviously look like a wizard. Harry wanted to make it look like Draco had been living among Muggles for a _very _long time.

Harry attempted to eat toast, but like it had done long ago, it felt as if he were chewing carpet. He gave up and made some black coffee for Draco instead. He then woke Draco up, who took much shorter than usual to get ready.

"Drink this," Harry said to Draco who shook his head.

"Come on, Draco. Your breath will smell like coffee. Muggles drink coffee."

"Fine," Draco said and took one sip of the coffee. "Let's go."

Harry kissed Draco quickly on the lips before saying "Courtroom seven and 11 o' clock. Remember that. Oh, and we are getting there by Muggle transportation. We want to use the least amount of magic possible."

Draco nodded and they set off. When they arrived at the Ministry, it was only nine in the morning. They headed down to courtroom seven anyway only to find it was already full. Two chairs were in the center and Harry had a scary feeling of Déjà vu. Draco must have had a similar feeling as he suddenly gasped.

"This is… the same place I was in the last time. When I was… when I was…"

He couldn't bring himself to say the word 'outcast.'

"We might as well go in," Harry said nervously. Draco nodded and they walked into the court together.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister for Magic was sitting where Fudge had sat the last time Harry had been in a trial. The witches and wizards surrounding him were mostly unrecognizable, although he did see the witch and wizard who had arranged the trial in the first place.

"I see you got the message, that the trials times were changed," said the witch who had arranged the hearing.

"The same trick only works once," Harry said coolly, remembering that they had changed the times the last time he had had a hearing as well.

"Accused, please take your seats," said Kingsley. His tone of voice gave nothing away. Harry could not tell if Kingsley was going to act harshly upon him or not.

He and Draco made their ways to the two rough seats. As soon as they sat down, the chains that had jingled at Harry the last time he had sat in a seat with them, now sprang to life, binding him and Draco to their chairs.

"Disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August into offences committed under the Decree of Outcastism and the principles that go along with it. Clause Twelve regarding Draco Malfoy regarding the restriction of communicating with Wizards once one has been Outcast and Clause Fourteen regarding Harry James Potter for the restriction of bonding, communicating and helping an Outcast. Interrogators: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic; Jordan Piper Harp, Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Episkey Lucifred Darquoin, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Ludovick Marely. Does the offence call any defense witnesses?" finished Kinsley.

"No," Harry replied. "We will defend ourselves."

"Then, let's begin with the charges. From what we gathered, Mr. Malfoy met up with Mr. Potter in a Muggle village. Correct?"

"Yes," Harry and Draco replied at the same time. "For how long have you been… er… living together?"

"Three months," Harry lied quickly. He then snuck a glance at Draco to see that the blonde had not reacted to his words.

The Minister looked at Draco as well, who nodded.

"And from what we have gathered, Mr. Malfoy has been using the Imperious Curse upon Mr. Potter in order to maintain living in a Wizard community. In which case, Mr. Potter will be let off with a warning and Mr. Malfoy executed. Is this correct, Mr. Potter?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed, "No! Not at all!" He was shocked at how quickly they had jumped to such a harsh conclusion.

"Very well," Kinsley boomed.

"Let me speak!" Harry yelled suddenly. "Let me tell the whole story."

Kingsley nodded to show that Harry could continue.

"I met up with Draco three months back and asked him to come to my home. I should not have done so, but I did. When there… he tried to kill himself."

Murmurs from the crowd; Harry could tell they were shocked at this.

"How?" Kingsley asked and his coworkers nodded.  
>"I jumped," Draco said quietly.<p>

"From the roof of my building," Harry answered the unasked question. "But I managed to save him. I asked him to live with me. We have been living together ever since."

More murmurs from the Wizengamot.

"Why?" asked one of the officials.

"Because I did not like being Outcast," Draco replied evenly.

"I just do not believe it!" rang out the voice of the strict witch who had assessed the situation back at Harry's home; Jordan Harp. "Why would a pure-blood, wealthy and proud Wizard want to kill himself?"

"You just answered the question yourself, Miss," Draco said, "A Pure-Blood _Ex_-Wizard is not the same as a Pure-Blood Wizard."

This broke out discussion.

"SILENCE!" Kingsley's voice drowned out all the other noise.

"If this is the truth, the charges will be more heavily pressed upon Mr. Potter. Do you not deny being in company of this Outcast willingly? And encouraging him to further break the law?"

"I do not deny it," Harry sighed.

"Then a vote," Kingsley said. "Mr. Malfoy will be executed, all in favor?" Nearly half the Wizengamot raised their hands. "Mr. Malfoy will _not_ be executed, all in favor?" Slightly more than half raised their hands. Next to Harry, Draco let out an enormous breath.

"All right," Kinsley said. "Draco Malfoy is hereby given a warning. If he is found communicating with Wizards again, he will be killed immediately by whomever sees him. As for Mr. Potter… all in favor of Outcasting Mr. Potter from the Wizarding World forever?"

Slowly, everyone in the room raised their hands. Not one person showed mercy, Kinsley included.

"Then we are done. You have one hour to collect your belongings. After that, I do not want to see either of you anywhere near Wizarding society. If you are, no more chances. You will be executed without trial."

In a dizzying blur, Harry and Draco left the room and it was only a few seconds later that they had Apparated back to their apartment.

When they arrived, Harry said urgently, "We need to bring as much as we can! Is there anything special you need to do or…?" he trailed off.

"Teddy," croaked Draco and Harry nodded.

"Right, you go say goodbye to Teddy. Apparate to Ron and Hermione's. I'll pack everything." Harry kissed Draco quickly again, and then a loud 'CRACK' left Harry alone in the room.

Ten minutes later he found himself rapidly shoving everything he could into a backpack with an Undetectable Engorgement Charm placed on it. He was almost done and he looked around the apartment, which appeared as if a burglary had just taken place. He had only two items left to put into the bag; Draco's hawthorn wand which he _would _be taking and a bunch of Turquoise Lily-Roses. Maybe now that he and Draco were Outcast, they could buy that house in the Country, only without a playground for Teddy, as he would not be staying with them. And it was with this thought that Harry left the apartment forever.

He was greeted by Hermione, who flung her arms around him, tears in her eyes.

"Draco's just told us. We'll miss you Harry."

Ron walked into the room, hugging Harry as well.

"Yeah mate, we'll miss you." Harry nodded at each of them, not wanting or knowing how to say goodbye forever.

"He's in the living room," Ron said gruffly and Harry retreated from their downcast gazes.

In the living room he found Draco clutching Teddy to him with all his might. The blonde hair clashed beautifully with the extravagant turquoise mop that was Teddy's hair. Harry could see the passion Draco had for the boy he felt was his own son, and Harry could see that Teddy didn't quite understand. Harry walked over, checking his watch. They had five minutes before they needed to leave… before they were Outcast, or Re-Outcast in Draco's case.

"Goodbye Teddy," Harry said, and he too began to hug the small boy.

"Goodbye?" Teddy asked. Draco nodded curtly, not daring to speak in case he burst into tears. Harry nodded as well.

"We will miss you," he said. Ron and Hermione had come into the room. "Goodbye," they said, Hermione with tears running down her face as she kissed Harry on the cheek whilst Draco and Ron shook hands.

"Go," Hermione said, checking the time with blurred vision and seeing that they had to leave. "Goodbye…" And then they Apparated for the third time that evening.

Harry and Draco found themselves in a forest.

"Where…?" Draco croaked, speaking at last.

"Hermione showed me this place… years ago when we were Horcrux hunting… I don't know why I thought of it now…" Harry answered. Despite what had just happened, he felt oddly light and happy.

But then, Draco suddenly burst into tears and Harry's mood shifted into concern.

"Draco? What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"It's all my fault!" Draco yelled. "Everything! Harry, don't you see? I ruined your life! You had friends, Teddy, magic! And I ruined it all. I walked into your life, burned down your house and now I – I – I've gotten you O – O – Outcast!"

"Shh, Draco, it's alright," Harry said.

"It's n – n – not alright!" Draco yelled, "Harry, I know what it is like to be Outcast! And I have taken everything from you! Magic. You lived with Muggles all your life, Harry, I know how important magic is to you! It was your escape, your wonderful alternative world!"

"We have your wand– "

"But it's different, Harry! It's different to have a wand and to be in an entire community of Wizards! I've r – r – ruined everything!"

"Draco," said Harry quietly, "I'm telling you it's alright. Look, stop crying."

Draco sniffled and attempted to stop the tears.

"You know, Draco. Do you know why Voldemort could not kill me when I was a baby?"

Draco shook his head, wondering what this had to do with the situation they were in.

"It was magic, Draco. An old magic he had overlooked. And do you know what that magic was?"

Draco shook his head again.

"Love."

_Fin. _


End file.
